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| Photo courtesy of cinedelphia.com |
I am fond of films that dare to
illustrate the unknown or unfamiliar situation of one’s society.
Circumstance, an award-winning film by Maryam Keshavarz, exposes the underground
life of the youth in Tehran under a repressive regime. It explores themes such
as drugs, sexuality, other activities prohibited and perceived by the
government as immoral and how religious authority affects the lives and
relationships of those under its governance. It showcases a patriarchal system
in which the primary authority is ruled by men. It shows how the system plays a
major role in the social, political and religious state of the country.
The story revolves around two
teenage girls, Atafe and Shireen. Atafe comes from a wealthy family and hangs
out a lot with her poor best friend Shireen. Atafe gets to enjoy the privileges of being
the daughter of her parents. On the other hand, Shireen, under her uncle’s supervision,
lives in the shadows of her deceased parents who are implied to have done rebellious
activities that led to their death. Atafe and Shireen have a very close
relationship and both enjoy private parties away from the eyes of the
authority. The movie emphasizes the desire of the young generation for freedom
which was given justice by the two characters who behaved recklessly despite the
consequences.
The film dares to condemn the
current political situation in Iran through Hossein’s character, an Iranian guy
from America whom Atafeh and Shireen met in a party. He asks Atafeh, Shireen
and another friend Salaam to help him dub and distribute the movie “Milk” on
the streets. The movie stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the first gay person to be
elected to public office in California. This is a brave yet predictable act
from a guy who lives in America which is a liberal country and acknowledges the
rights of the gay community.
Atafe and Shireen’s friendship
eventually turns romantic. I witness a relationship that blossoms amidst the
danger and pressure of the society’s religious culture. And for the same
reason, how this relationship ends through Mehran, Atafe’s brother who just
returned home from a drug rehab. He develops, what looks like an obsession with
Shireen. His devotion to Muslim morality after he came out from the rehab
brought an awkward tension in his family. As the story progresses, Mehran’s
dark character unfolds resulting to chaos in his family.
There
is also this scene that caught my attention. It is when Atafe’s family and
Shireen went to the beach. Atafe’s father acknowledges her and told her that
someday they could all go in the water. I am completely unaware that there is
actually a place where women are not allowed to swim publicly. I have to
check on that though. That scene implies Atafe’s father concern on her daughter’s
thoughts but all he can do is wish that in the future women will be able to
enjoy the privileges enjoyed by men. Going to the beach and not able to enjoy
the water really sucks! Thank goodness to Atafe and Shireen’s rebellious
character, they did swim but when no one is around.
Circumstance is truly
heart-breaking and worth watching. There are some scenes though that are dragging, and those that I feel like there is no need to be included in the film as it has less to no effect
on the story. The actors portrayed their characters really well. There is a lot of emotions going on even without any conversations or dialogue. And the music used to score the film is electrifying! I really appreciate it.
The movie speaks to me in ways that made me very grateful on what
I have and where I am today. For that, I generously give 8 espresso shots for this film.
*I did some research on this film and found out that though the story is set in Tehran, the movie was shot in Lebanon. (source: Circumstance Movie Review by Rich Cline, http://www.contactmusic.com/movie-review/circumstance)
According to the dailybeast.com,
the movie is banned in Iran.
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