I saw that movie in Toronto and, at the time, I had in mind a few other movies from Iran that I really enjoyed: Gabbeh, A Time for Drunken Horses and Children of Heaven. You could say that I had big expectations for The Circle.
I must admit that halfway through The Circle, I wasn't too pleased. So many characters, what's the link between them, and other questions. Then, I saw the light! We don't need to see what happen with the first characters that we get to know in the movie. We know what is happening to them. We know that they're stuck in a society where they're next to nothing. It's somekind of a circle for those women, never mind what they seem to try, it always come down to the same situation for them.
The movie is informative since it shows us the situation of women in the Iranian society. In the last few years, we have seen some opening from the Iranian government of Khatami. Hopefully, the situation of women will get better, even though there's a lot of resistance from the Islam and the men.
The acting in this one, like in other movies from Iran, is excellent. The actors are no superstars and they play their role naturally. The beautiful Fereshteh Sadr Orfani is excellent in the role of the four month pregnant women who's wishing for an abortion since she's not married.
The camera work in this one is also good even if it sometimes make you a little dizzy. Just like Scorcese in a few scene of Goodfellas or in The Blair Witch Project, the camera is always in movement. We feel like we're part of the action.
A film to open the eyes.
7 out of 10.
