Circumstance (Sharayet)

Deb 1 Me 1

This is an over ambitious film that proves to be very boring. As is often the case, there weren’t a lot of people in the theater, but each of them indulged in yawns and fidgeting distractions after the first hour of eternity. It’s an Iranian film, sub-titled poorly and punctuated with indigenous music. We follow the adventures of two young ladies through events that are seldom revisited and somewhat pointless. In their adolescent quest for liberation from the strict cultural confines of Iran they encounter a never ending series of deviants, ignorant authorities, despicable spies and generally un-likeable people.

I was able to identify with some of the girls methods of “breaking out” but it wasn’t enough to justify watching the whole movie. Another thing I came away with was why so many eastern cultures hate America. The whole society, with its primitive roots, has taken the worst of western culture and tried to assimilate it into their lives. The clothes and cars of opulence, the films and music that glorify indulgence are celebrated in nightclubs and backrooms throughout the land. These decadent social ingredients are all interpreted by people who have few social rights and no historical training in self-indulgence. So many elements were presented in the movie that it was hard to digest. After thinking about it for a couple days, parts of it seem palpable, but the fact is that this was WAY too boring and not really worth a second thought.