Maryam Keshavarz is a young Iranian-American filmmaker, born and reared in the United States but with some education in Iran. Like most young people, she has a strong desire for freedom and uses her film, "Circumstance," to make her case. Unfortunately, she makes her case far-reaching and over-ambitious, so instead of campaigning for, say, the right of high-schoolers to stay up late and, perhaps, listen to some loud music and dance provocatively, she has made a film that takes teens over the top — to drink and smoke and take drugs and engage in sexual activity both hetero- and homosexual.
The result, though it shows an exciting love affair between two beautiful young women, simply goes over the top in all directions and lessens any single bullet in favor of a wild barrage.
Atafeh (Nikhol Boosheri) and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy) are high-school classmates who love one another, but who fear the repressive Iranian government and the "political police," who spy on young people, hoping to find an example of bad behavior or improper dress. Atafeh comes from a wealthy, educated, liberal family; Shireen is from a poorer background.
They hang out with other teens, all testing the repressive environment. They want to do a translation of the filmed biography of Harvey Milk, they listen to records, they dance, they strip to their underwear and swim in the ocean, they get arrested.
Atafeh's parents understand their daughter, but they have their own worries, compounded by their son, Mehran (Reza Sixo Safai), once a musician and a man with a drug problem, now a reformer and a religious zealot. He also has his eye on Shireen. What happens is rather predictable, but Keshavarz' writing and direction show the passion of youth in fine fashion.
A plea for understanding, and some cinematic talent. Discipline and experience will make Kesavarz' next film that much better.
Circumstance opens today at the Tivoli
— Joe