The Circle

Using a documentary-style camera, Panahi jumps from one woman’s story to the next, giving the viewer a glimpse into the oppressive restrictions placed on women in Iranian society.  Their tales are of course sympathetic, and dread lurks around every corner as they attempt to free themselves in some small way… even smoking a cigarette in public is a risky proposition.  Panahi’s heart is in the right place, but I have to say that as unfortunate as the situation is, little of it is very surprising.  It makes the whole experience rather obvious.  Speaking of obvious, once you catch on to the structure, there’s no question about where the film will end up.  This sort of transitioning from one character to the next is not novel or particularly clever anymore (it’s been done since at least 50 years earlier with La Ronde, if not even further back) and is rarely satisfying.  It does allow Panahi to touch upon a wider variety of social issues, but it also strikes me as a lazy way to piece together fragments of unfinished narratives.  The performances are all very good, which actually works against the structure.  You get so involved with the characters that it becomes frustrating to abandon them.  I wouldn’t call this a misstep in Panahi’s career.  It’s an engaging film with a good message.  But it is less enthralling than other works I’ve seen by him.  Rating: Fair

IMDb