Circle

The rookie directors Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione have found a good way to put together a minimalistic sci-fi film; they’ve set off on a good path, but unfortunately didn’t fully reach their destination. Circle has a fine idea – we’ve already seen different versions of a similar thing, but I don’t remember anything set up like this as a dialogue. Circle says a lot about human nature, sometimes it pokes nicely at certain prejudices and thoughts, or at least tries. But I have a little problem with its credibility. From the very beginning the film feels like watching characters in a theatre play that the creators move according to their whim, rather than real living people. Basically, they speak the way the plot demands, at the expense of being convincing. It’s a pity, the premise has more potential. (18/10/2015)

Before you realize what Circle is actually about, you're halfway through and already have your favorites, who you wish to stay with until the end. Not that it's easy to choose someone from the heap of unsympathetic characters. At first, I was terribly annoyed by the clear fact that the camera probably wouldn't move outside a dark room and I was at least pleased that the directors didn't have to invest too much. However, I can't say that they made me very happy for those small amounts of money. It's true that they were able to build tension and curiosity, but the finale kind of ruined the impression for me. The biggest problem was probably in the clichéd characters, who went through their dramatic "unexpected" dialogues and thus disrupted the overall believability. As a feature debut of the directing duo, I take it though. (29/03/2016)