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Circumstance

Play trailer Poster for Circumstance R 2011 1h 45m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 77 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
An Iranian teenager (Nikohl Boosheri) enters a lesbian relationship, while her brother (Reza Sixo Safai) becomes dangerously obsessed with Islamic fundamentalism.
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Circumstance

Circumstance

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Critics Consensus

A thought-provoking, insightful look into Iranian youth culture.

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Critics Reviews

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Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard Aug 24, 2012
Keshavarz's film is both sensuous and audacious if a little uneven. Go to Full Review
Catherine Shoard Guardian Aug 23, 2012
3/5
Keshavarz uses a trowel to feed us her ideas about living under a repressive regime when all you required was a teaspoon. But she has enough promise to keep you curious for her next offering - if she can just get a lighter grip on the ladle. Go to Full Review
Ashley Clark Little White Lies Aug 23, 2012
4/5
Bold, haunting and moving; an excellent feature debut. Go to Full Review
David Lamble Bay Area Reporter Jun 10, 2020
The increasing fear and paranoia are temporarily offset by witty scenes of young queers dubbing a pirated version of Milk. Go to Full Review
B. Ruby Rich Film Quarterly Feb 28, 2020
With an eye for detail and atmosphere reminiscent of Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta, [Maryam] Keshavarz nimbly reworks the diaspora narrative with a fresh, stylish, sexy style. Go to Full Review
Katie Smith-Wong Flick Feast Nov 26, 2019
4/5
Circumstance is a fascinating and perceptive drama with a refreshing take on modern-day culture clashes in the Middle East. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Faiz D @RT95588871 May 13, 2025 A truly unexpected film and great music as well. See more Apr 2, 2017 It was so oppressing to watch, but this kind of movie allows revolution and people to actually feel what happens to youth. And my god Shireen is such beauty. See more Sep 28, 2015 Circumstance is a surprisingly complex and intriguing look at Iranian lives. Various tensions between sensuality and repression, family and the state, and too many more to mention play out over the course of a short story. While not a masterpiece, Circumstance is nicely drawn and worth a look, especially if you are unfamiliar with Persian culture. See more Jul 24, 2015 Very good effort with a story based on a master treatise. Iranians live in an artificially prude world that actually protects them from the idiotic-ness of western world make efforts to go idiotic. Desire here seems superficial although love is everywhere. The story is very well balanced and i felt surprised to root for everybody in the film. May god be great. Maybe god is great. The outcome is not obvious or formulaic, but it does ring true. See more Mar 9, 2014 ok romantic drama in a land where love n freedom are monitored See more Jun 28, 2013 first time i've seen an Iranian movie that achieved ultimate levels of hotness and creepiness. depressing? of course - it's a Persian film. but the rest was so unexpected in so many ways. See more Read all reviews
Circumstance

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Movie Info

Synopsis An Iranian teenager (Nikohl Boosheri) enters a lesbian relationship, while her brother (Reza Sixo Safai) becomes dangerously obsessed with Islamic fundamentalism.
Director
Maryam Keshavarz
Producer
Maryam Keshavarz, Karin Chien
Screenwriter
Maryam Keshavarz
Distributor
Roadside Attractions
Rating
R (Sexual Content|Language|Some Drug Use)
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
Persian
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 26, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$452.6K
Runtime
1h 45m
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