The magic of movies is that they can take you to places that you have never been or will travel to. They show you the customs, dress, homes, bad and good of different countries. In many cases what
you see really isn't what you see such being the case in "Circumstance"
which takes place in Tehran, Iran, but was filmed in Lebanon with Beirut
standing in for Tehran.

This film about Iran and , supposedly, taking place there, will not be seen there as the director/writer Maryam Keshavarz shows what life is for young people and how most live a double life acting in one way with family and another 'underground'..

Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri) and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy)
are teenage school friends whose friendship turns into a a physical
passion. The latter lives with her well-to-do established family and has
a brother, Mehran (Rezo Sixo Safai) who has just returned from rehab and now instead of being hooked on drugts he is hooked on religion and spying, by secretly filming, on his family. He, also, falls in love with Shireen. The latter is an orphan who lost her parents to the regime for being writers and dissidents. Along with friends they are dubbing the American films "Milk" and "Sex and the City" to reflect their political feelings.

From
going to secret raves and house parties to females not being allowed to
swim in public,  public officials blackmailing citizens and citizens
bribing public officials we see all aspects of young life in Iran and
what they deal with when it comes to adults. While the love affair
between the girls is explored the subject of homosexuality in Iran isn't
just as children spying on their family is glossed over.

The film revolves around the strength of Boosheri and Kazemy who hold the film together with their acting, passion and beauty. In a sense Safai is the villain but he touches the audience as does Soheil Parza and Nasrin Pakkho as the parents.

The director makes a few missteps along the way as she does with the screenplay but she opened a world that I would never have experienced otherwise.