The Circle (Faces of Iran)
Faces of Iran
The Circle
Dayareh Iran 2000 | Jafar Panahi | vostEN+DE | 90’ | 35mm | Cast : Nargess Mamizadeh, Maryiam Parvin Almani, Mojgan Faramarziz
► Golden Lion, Venice 2000
Two Iranian women are given temporary leave from prison and attempt to flee but are caught by police. Meanwhile, one of their friends who has escaped is in need of an abortion…
« This masterpiece is radical in form: it begins one morning in a hospital and ends that evening in jail, the camera revolving 360 degrees in each space. Extremely realistic yet highly artificial in structure, it’s dazzling as a whole. The most talented disciple of Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami, Panahi actually tops him at leaving things out of a story to tantalize the viewer; he uses these ellipses for political as well as aesthetic ends, trusting the audience’s decency as well as its imagination. » (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
« Just like Tomb Raider, it is fiction. It just unfortunately comes a lot closer than the American film to the truth of how its female characters live. » (Houston Chronicle)
