A triumph of invisible craftsmanship that embraces so much specific detail that none of the women ever comes across as an emblem or an abstraction.
The Circle(دایره)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Iran, Italy, Switzerland · 2000
1h 30m
Director Jafar Panahi
Starring Nargess Mamizadeh, Maryiam Palvin Almani, Mojgan Faramarzi, Elham Saboktakin
Genre Drama
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Various women, whose lives intertwine, struggle to function in the oppressively sexist society of contemporary Iran. Their crimes are vague, their guilt or innocence unimportant. Their world is one of constant surveillance and inequalities, but it cannot extinguish the spirit, strength, and courage of the circle of women.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Suspenseful and ingeniously directed.
New York Daily News by Jami Bernard
How dangerous it is to be a woman in Iran, especially one going against the wishes of her menfolk, is brought home time after time in these related vignettes.
New Times (L.A.) by Jean Oppenheimer
An extraordinary film from a born filmmaker.
New York Post by Jonathan Foreman
This film is fighting the good fight, albeit in a rather heavy-handed way.
This tightly structured, often exciting film is among the boldest in a series of increasingly explicit movies.
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
Restrained yet powerful, devastating in its emotional effects.
Baltimore Sun by Michael Sragow
A terrific social drama, the work of an artist, not a pleader.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Sean Axmaker
A mix of the poetic and the polemic, the film is oddly abstract and untethered.
Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea
Quiet, rageful indictment of a two-tiered Islamic society.
Users who liked this film also liked
The Prestige
Are you watching closely?
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2006
- Director Christopher Nolan
- Cast Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, David Bowie
- Genre Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Willow Tree
(بید مجنون)
When a blind university professor’s sight is restored, he is faced with a new visual world of confusion and temptation.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2005
- Director Majid Majidi
- Cast Parviz Parastouei, Roya Taymourian, Afarin Obeisi, Reza Naji, Melika Eslafi, Mahmoud Behraznia
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Mad Max: Fury Road
In an apocalyptic future, two rebels join forces.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Australia, United States • 2015
- Director George Miller
- Cast Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Josh Helman, Nathan Jones
- Genre Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Plex
The Lobster
An unconventional love story...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ireland, United Kingdom, Greece • 2015
- Director Yorgos Lanthimos
- Cast Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Ariane Labed, John C. Reilly
- Genre Thriller, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy
The Martian
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and abandoned by his crew.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2015
- Director Ridley Scott
- Cast Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Taxi
(تاکسی)
An exiled filmmaker posing as a cab driver captures incisive portraits of diverse passengers in present-day Tehran.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2015
- Director Jafar Panahi
- Cast Jafar Panahi
- Genre Comedy, Documentary
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Masaan
(मसान)
Four stories intertwine in moments of discrimination, disparity, desire, and despair small-town India.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India, France • 2015
- Director Neeraj Ghaywan
- Cast Richa Chadda, Sanjay Mishra, Vicky Kaushal, Shweta Tripathi, Vineet Kumar, Pankaj Tripathi
- Genre Bollywood, Drama
- Available on Amazon Video
Your Name.
(君の名は。)
High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2016
- Director Makoto Shinkai
- Cast Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Masami Nagasawa, Etsuko Ichihara, Ryou Narita, Aoi Yuki
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Apple TV
Bohemian Rhapsody
Fearless lives forever
- ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2018
- Director Bryan Singer
- Cast Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Lucy Boynton, Aidan Gillen
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on Hulu, fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
A Prayer Before Dawn
The fight starts from the inside.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France, China • 2018
- Director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
- Cast Joe Cole, Vithaya Pansringarm, Pornchanok Mabklang, Nicolas Shake, Billy Moore, Panya Yimmumphai
- Genre Drama, Action, Crime
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Kanopy
The Lighthouse
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, United States • 2019
- Director Robert Eggers
- Cast Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman, Logan Hawkes, Kyla Nicolle, Shaun Clarke
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Kanopy, Plex Channel
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
The origin story of Furiosa and her decades-long fight for survival before the events of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
- Australia, United States • 2024
- Director George Miller
- Cast Anya Taylor-Joy, Tom Burke, Chris Hemsworth, Angus Sampson, Nathan Jones, Quaden Bayles
- Genre Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Plex