The movie follows a wealthy family in Iran. The daughter is in love with another girl, together they attend illicit parties and experiment with sex, drinking, and drugs. The brother returns home from drug rehab, renounces his former decadent life, and replaces his once obsessive practice of classical music with more destructive pursuits.
Circumstance bravely depicts the political plight of independent young women in Iran, a timely and worthwhile subject somewhat let down by two-dimensional storytelling.
Both Boosheri and Kazemy are newcomers, but their spirited, tender performances -- from the eroticism to the shame and the flights of freedom -- feel completely, devastatingly real.
Takes an even-handed approach that never preaches, presenting a resonant side of Iran's society that we have never before seen on screen
Globe and Mail
October 07, 2011
About a sexy, frank and politically contentious Iranian film, two things can be known for a certainty: (a) It sure wasn't made in Iran and (b) It won't be shown there either.
Circumstance may miss out on making a truly startling political point, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable and tautly executed tale of young love, forbidden fruit and the world previous generations leave behind for us.
