Circumstance

Aroview: A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's dangerous obsession in this courageous, if contrived drama of forbidden love.

While a passionate and vivid depiction of contemporary youth desires in patriarchal Iran, Keshavarz’s brave filming of a lesbian storyline in this environment is undermined by excessive ‘air-brushing’ and an unnecessary subplot employed to inject tension into an already fraught scenario. Still, as another Middle Eastern narrative which dares to explore the treatment of women in the Islamic world, it must be commended.

NZ International Film Festival 2011