While the thought of a film devoted to examination of the state of gender relations in contemporary Iran may sound like hell on earth for those of us not on an especially rigorous art-cinema-is-good-for-you self-improvement binge, this stark and relentless portrayal of women’s oppression in Iran is far from what you might expect. Directed by Jafar Panahi (former assistant to Abbas Kiarostami, and director of The White Balloon), The Circle is both interesting enough in subject matter and competent enough as entertainment to warrant an audience outside that breed of filmgoer who sits through entire credit sequences after movies, whether or not they’re in Sanskrit.

Set over a 24-hour period in Tehran, the film deals with the lot of seven women who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law, and thereby on the fringes of Iranian society. Given that the lives of even law-abiding Iranian women are far from easy, the fringes are by no means a pleasant place to be.

Further, in a place where a woman can be arrested for accepting a lift from a man, smoking or travelling unaccompanied, it’s not exactly difficult to find yourself an outcast. The film opens with the birth of a baby girl – not a happy occasion for the mother, given that she faces a divorce for producing this wrongly-gendered offspring. The other crimes committed by the characters here are equally as vague and disturbing – and the circular narrative leads one to the inescapable conclusion that life as a woman is a form of imprisonment.

Certainly, the heavy polemical aspect of The Circle does make it a little too ‘worthy’ an exercise in places, but the potent naturalistic performances of the non-professional cast, the bleak and often wordless screenplay and the by now almost standard Iranian use of hand-held documentary style camerawork combine to create an undeniably powerful work. Just don’t expect any musical numbers or car chases.