In 'Circumstance,' sexual discovery in oppressive Iran
SET IN IRAN but shot in Lebanon, for obvious reasons, the coming-of-age drama "Circumstance" stars two photogenic and expressive marvels, Nikohl Boosheri and Sarah Kazemy, as teenage friends and lovers living under the thumb of an oppressive regime.
SET IN IRAN but shot in Lebanon, for obvious reasons, the coming-of-age drama "Circumstance" stars two photogenic and expressive marvels, Nikohl Boosheri and Sarah Kazemy, as teenage friends and lovers living under the thumb of an oppressive regime.
Modern-day Tehran comes alive in the underground club sequences of New York-based writer-director Maryam Keshavarz's feature. Yet the film wages an internal battle between its ripely sensual atmosphere and its often stilted pacing and plotting.
Still, those faces count for a lot. Raised in a wealthy and relatively permissive family, Atafeh (Boosheri) has a brother (Reza Sixo Safai) coping with drug rehabilitation. Brother Mehran yearns for Atafeh's best friend, Shireen (Kazemy). And he is not alone - he sees what is developing between Shireen and his sister.
Winner of the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival, Keshavarz's film works best when it accomplishes the least in story terms. When Boosheri and Kazemy are allowed to share a frame, "Circumstance" shows us what's at stake here: two human hearts under close watch but miraculously in sync.