The Circle

Filmed in Iran a quarter of a century ago, and unsurprisingly banned by the Government there, this is quite a savage indictment of the roles and rights of women in a society where their freedoms and choices are largely non-existant. Using some pretty clandestine looking filming techniques we follow, sequentially, three women from different backgrounds and of different ages who find themselves at odds with the societal expectations and demands of the their nation. Indeed, the reaction at the start of this to the birth of a baby girl speaks volumes as to the "value" placed on a girl child as opposed to a boy. What's also astonishing here is that the prosecution of their duties is carried out with an unsympathetic enthusiasm by men of all ages, with an unnerving degree of firmness and who are entirely impervious to the pleadings of the women who come under their purview. It's quite possible that the younger ones are even more zealous than their elders and discretion is distinctly lacking for even the most minor of infractions of the rules. Barring one brief example towards the end, there is a prevailing and quite shocking absence of humanity shown by those in uniform towards their fellow female citizens who are treated as little better than chattels. This isn't my favourite Panahi film as he seems to have left much of the ladies' characterisations on the drawing board, the plot is a little too dry, and I felt he relied more on our own inate distaste for laws that so obviously discriminate against an half the population who are to be denied opportunity, education and even the right to chose what they wear or whom they travel with, to do his heavy lifting for him. It has more of a docu-drama look to it, and though that doesn't detract from the potency of the message it doesn't really allow us to get to know any of the women who live in this oppressive environment of fear and apprehension.