The Circle (Dayereh)

The Circle (Dayereh) (2000)

  • 93% of critics liked it
    (60 reviews)

  • 75% of users liked it
    (2,191 ratings)

Three Iranian women must contend with a repressive political regime that has placed a stranglehold on nearly every aspect of their lives in this hard-hitting social drama. In a nation where a woman cannot buy a bus ticket out of town or accept a car ride from a man, much less have an abortion,… More

Play Trailer

R,
Directed By
Written By
Kambuzia Partovi
Genres
Art House & International, Drama
In Theaters
May 18, 2001 Limited
On DVD
Dec 18, 2001
Winstar Cinema

Critic Reviews

  • Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News

    An impressive piece of work, especially considering it was made in a barren artistic climate overseen by a censorious government.

  • Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

    Just like Tomb Raider, it is fiction. It just unfortunately comes a lot closer than the American film to the truth of how its female characters live.

  • Desson Thomson, Washington Post

    A memorable and devastating indictment of the oppression facing many women in Iran.

  • Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

    In its brisk way, it's a devastating piece of work, and very brave too.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    Profoundly dangerous to the status quo in Iran because it asks us to identify with the plight of women who have done nothing wrong except to be female.

Read all 19 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Walter M


    [font=Century Gothic][color=darkorchid]During the opening credits of "The Circle" a 2000 movie from Iran directed by Jafar Panahi(Crimson Gold), we hear the sounds of childbirth. A nurse tells a relative through an opening that "It's a Girl." And the… More

  • John B


    Be in the right mood to see this. It is one of umpteen depictions of women coping in fundamentalist Islamic states but it happens to be one of the better ones.

  • Dimitris S


    Undoubtedly,it's one of the top 10 films of 2000.Justification knows no boundaries and female,psychological suffering is excellently displayed on this film.Real drama,nothing fake to cover the truth.Panahi eluding his road to "sacrilegious perdition" contrary to the… More

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