Iranian-American Maryam Keshavarz’s first feature length narrative film explores the underground world of Iran’s rebellious youth scene. A complicated coming of age story, Circumstance (released in August of this year) follows two best friends as they search for youthful liberation in a society that would give them none.
The film opens on a black screen. In the dark we hears Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri), the daughter of a wealthy and liberal family, whisper to Shireen (Sarah Kazemy), the orphaned daughter of assassinated political activists who lives with her socially conservative uncle. “If you could be anywhere in the world where would you be?” she whispers. We are then immediately transported into the girls’ fantasy world. The musically talented Atafeh sings and dances provocatively in a nightclub while Shireen watches, drink in hand. Immediately, the audience is welcomed into the private world of Atafeh and Shireen’s intimate friendship.
We then see the girls explore a dangerous underground world of alcohol, sex, drugs, clubs, and parties. Singing and dancing together in private, their scarfs constantly slipping off their heads in public, the two best friends attempt to find freedom from a society where conservative religious law attempts to keep them repressed. But with the constant surveillance of law enforcement and the watchful eye of Atafeh’s newly religious brother, Mehran (played by Reza Sixo Safai) the girls’ fantasy world is challenged.
Circumstance is a tough movie to watch, with scenes of intense teenage joy and fantasy intercut with the reality of the society in which Atafeh and Mehran actually live. The film is effective in that the viewer empathizes strongly with girls and their desire for liberation. The character driven piece is carried by first time actresses Boosheri and Kazemy. The two young actresses play challenging roles with honesty and vulnerability, without which the film would have been totally ineffective.
The movie is underscored by an overstated soundtrack. Along with traditional Iranian songs, sung in Persian, sometimes by the actors, there are throbbing club beats in party scenes; American pop songs that the girls sing along to in Atafeh’s bedroom; and the excellent use of a Le Tigre song in a particularly rebellious scene. The mixed soundtrack guides the audience through the strange world the girls live in where Iranian and Western culture mix in an unfamiliar way.
Circumstance is an excellent first first film for Keshavarz. It is moving, fearless, and addresses topics rarely covered in movies. To learn more about the film check out it’s website or Facebook page.
Dark, moving, and imaginative, Circumstance is painfully beautiful movie about growing up in a repressive society: A Note: The movie is entirely in Persian.
The review made me want to see the movie. We are not able to access much informaiton from Iran and learning about the angst of the young in a repressive society would be a revelation.