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After the violent death of his elder brother who was a notorious criminal and smuggler, Shahram (Abdollah Butimar) heads to his brother's villa to handle the business and take care of his remaining loot. However, things will not go as expected. While in his brother's house, a web of suspicious characters, events and situations will soon close over him. Is it delirium? Or is the truth not what it initially seemed like ? Iranian director Samuel Khachikian used once again strong visual expressionist elements to set up a genuine noir atmosphere, on the edge of the horror genre. However, the plot, sometimes confusing, and pace of this film both appear here as weaker compared to other Khachikian noir masterpieces such as Faryade nimeshab (1961), Yek ghadam ta marg (1961) and Delhoreh (1962). I would still recommend it to fellow noir aficionados.

Another noir masterpiece from director Samuel Khachikian. Shirin lives with her parents: her sick mother who cannot leave her bed, and her depressed father who fell into alcoholism. This situation does not prevent Shirin from keeping hope in her mom's recovery, with the help of a doctor who really likes her. Her father's crooked colleague happens to be interested in her too, which will mark the beginning of a real nightmare for Shirin and her family. Here again, Khachikian used striking lighting and contrasting shadows to materialize the family's descent into hell, reminiscent of John Alton's works a few years before.

"Le cercle vicieux" tells the story of a young and broke Parisian artist who spends more time seducing women than working on his paintings. One day, a wealthy German woman who enjoys his service as a gigolo mentions marriage. However, once married, things start to go wrong between her and this homme fatal. This French film noir and its characters are full of cynicism and the dialogues are so explicit and subtle at the same time that they might sometimes seem unclear for non-native speakers. I was skeptical before watching this gem as most reviews found the movie boring, but trust me it will please any film noir lover, especially if you can understand French.