The Circle (2000)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Yet another classic Persian movie with intense drama and each story depicted in the movie is intense and holds the audience's attention. It is a movie with multiple stories unfolding one after the other.The movie starts and ends in a jail in Iran. And, the lives of all the Iranian women in the movie is circumscribed with over-hauling shadows of the men either a father, brother or husband in their life. It was very hard to believe about the plight of the women in the movie and can't help but empathize with them. Sometimes you would feel like stepping in the scene and help the struggling women.The film seems to have captured the lives of each and every woman in the society in one way or the other. It wonderfully intertwines each story with another and finally ends where it all began. It reminds of the phrase "Life has come a full circle". And, the same happens to each character in the movie.It is a must watch and if you happen to like the movie, which you would be, then don't miss to watch Jafar Panahi's another classic "The Mirror" as well.

"The Circle" is a powerful study of the lives of Iranian women. Another user commented that this film had weak points and might bore some viewers. Part of its atmosphere is conveyed through it's slower-than-Hollywood, well-paced shots which allow the viewer to soak in the feeling of desperation of the women in the film. As the director said in his interview on the DVD version of this film, he does not shoot a film so that it pleases an audience. He is there to shoot a film and make a statement, which he does very well in this film. This is a thought-provoking, very well thought out study of a circle or chain of women who all have something in common, they have committed the crime of being female in Iran. Note how a driver late in the movie gets off scot free and the woman still goes to jail. This is a must-watch if you want a good example of the oppression of many women in that part of the world, not just Iran.

A script with a wonderful structure; an outstanding team of actresses; the most creative sound track I've heard since God knows when(I'm not talking about the music: this is a film you've got to listen to, not just watch); a masterful use of off-screen shots; the best opening sequence I've seen this year: a long shot in the tradition of "Touch of Evil" or "The Player"... Daring and thought-provoking in its contents as well as in its form, you may not find it absolutely perfect, but "The Circle" surely fits my definition of a masterpiece.

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.