The Circle

Jafar Panahi's (The White Balloon) latest explores--with affectingly detached observation--the plight of a half-dozen mostly husbandless women in Iran. Shot in traditional “neo-realist” style--relying on unstaged street scenes, lots of ambient sound, and mostly amateur actors--this understated film captures the myriad daily indignities visited upon a gender marginalized by a highly patriarchal society. Despite their collective repression, the women whose stories are told here--government detainees hard up for cash, a woman seeking an abortion, etc.--show immense courage as they carry on, even under constant scrutiny and subject to male questioning at any time for any reason. Recommended. (T. Rich)