Ask the CIRCLE Filmmakers

I was really happy with the ending execution, hard to make a boring plot last for so long, I think it was really hard to write, the idea is great but it was so hard to keep my attention knowing that nothing would really happen in 1 hour 40, but the ending imo saved it, it was brave, we do not see that a lot lately in movies. I was so glad. I forgot all the mistakes and boredom I got by around min 30-40, by mistakes I just mean that it is almost impossible to write perfect dialogues for so many characters in such a short time, overall they were great, one of my favorite lines was ¨kill the black guy¨ because in real life thats exactly how someone would say it. Some of them felt surreal tho, like the guy accepting he beats his girlfriend, or the mexican surviving for so long lol, I think they would have killed him much sooner. Loved, loved, loved the ending. I also appreciate a lot not showing them being shot most of the time, I particularly liked that, it kept some humanity and seriousness because of that as opposed to some random exploitation film. Did I say how much I loved the ending? specially when you see the people who survived are mostly kids and women. Plus you did not explain anything, the ending was just so adorable. love you.

I just watched the film last night on Netflix and also finished reading through quite a bit of this thread (phew!). I had to sneak around my wife to watch it, because she hates films like this.

First of all, I loved the movie!

I am a college professor of computer science and teach mostly decision support systems. (If we were in a circle, this is where you would vote for me... lol). I often present my students with challenging thought scenarios like this. However, there were a few of the earlier Team Circle responses that actually disappointed me, so I am pointing them out in case they can be clarified or amplified:

1. That the aliens selected almost everyone in Earth's population to participate in a circle. That would have been unnecessary if the selection process were truly random. Statistically, a few thousand circles would tell a researcher almost everything they need to know. Not even a language criteria was used (evidenced by the spanish-speaking man), so stratification was likely not a concern of the aliens. Thinning out the population of Earth to less than 1/50th its size would be catastrophic to Earth, particularly if the remaining subjects include a high percentage of pregnant women and children.

2. That the aliens intentionally put specific subjects in a circle (e.g. pregnant women, children). Again, this manipulation would violate the randomness of the experiment. By the way, I am going under the assumption that the motivation for the circle is experimentation.

Now for my own observations/questions:

1. As I said earlier, I see the only purpose of the circle that of experimentation. It would tell the researcher right away which form of life on earth has higher intelligence. Simply understanding the rules is an indication. One could guess that there might have been a circle full of chimps or cows, which lasted....oh... about 2 minutes, and so on. I do not remember reading a response in the thread where it specifically said that the purpose of the circle was an experiment. Is that the case?

2. I could not help but read (perhaps too much) some decision/game theory into the film. For example, there was a lot of uncertainty into every decision, therefore, information and the value of information were the most valuable commodities to everyone in the circle. We see by the end shot that there is a higher probability for survivors to be selected based on preservation of self or preservation of moral values. If none of the subjects had said a word after the rules of the game were revealed, and no one knew anything about the others, the decisions would have likely been different and too random to help the experiment. That's why I believe that, after determining that humans were at the apex of intelligent life on earth, the aliens wanted to determine how humans manage information and knowledge, how knowledge is transferred, and how our own "humanity" (bias, tacit knowledge, etc.) affects the value of that new knowledge. I saw a lot of Gilboa, von Neumann, and Kahneman in this film. Was decision theory or game theory how the idea of the film was conceived?

3. The final scene. I did notice right away a high number of children and what appeared to be some pregnant women. However, I took away from that another thought. The idea that this was now another circle, at least in the proverbial/philosophical sense, since all these were survivors of other circles but still must figure out how to survive on earth. The groups of survivors would be made up mostly of manipulators, charity cases, and lucky strikers - Earth is doomed. Was this a consideration at all or am I reading too much into such a short scene?
By the way, that could make an interesting follow-up story having the survivors discuss among themselves how they came about to be survivors, probably resulting in a very similar pattern to the circle where some are "voted off" society, alliances are made, some people are protected, etc.

I could go on forever. This was a great film.

I know this thread is likely dead but I was curious is suspenders guy was intentionally cast to look like Ted Cruz?

I couldn't help but wonder if it was any coincidence that each of the final survivors in the end scene looked a lot like the other players in Eric's circle (there was a blonde-bearded guy, a man with a sweater and glasses, the pregnant lady...)

Almost like they all represented a parallel universe where that character one.


Also- I would so love to see a Circle with every surviving member of the last circle! Hehe.

Great movie, btw. I find it incredibly underrated here on IMDB. The premise and execution was really really strong!

I just wanted to say I loved the movie but I have one huge issue I would love more lore about this world. Other then that no real complaints.

Watched the movie a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it but I felt from the very beginning like I knew who was going to be the last one standing. I am saying all of this before reading any of this thread though I will read all (27) pages to see who else thought the same thing after giving my comments.

It wasn't anything your team did wrong. You had a ton of red herrings and they were just as involved in the story as the final couple people were but I just knew it would be that kid. I can't even really explain exactly how I knew I just have this weird knack to predict fictional outcomes in media well before I am supposed to as a viewer. I really wish I could just use this ability to know the lottery numbers but it doesn't work like that. Intense A.D.D. and terrible focus on just about anything in life unless I am watching a movie or TV show in which case I am hyper focused on every little detail in every single moment of that particular story. The backgrounds, what the characters say, what they do, their body language, the way they are framed or lit in the scene, how much screen time they have, how quickly they are introduced, any background given.

But usually I am just almost completely sure. This time with your film I was completely certain who would be left standing in the end. Again it wasn't any mistake you guys made in editing or the framing of the film you had quite a bit more red herrings then most films were and they were all orchestrated brilliantly.

But there was what I thought was an external influence in the film that within about two minutes of it starting was highlighted with a big beacon in my mind.

Any of you anime fans by any chance? Particularly a little series called Gantz?

That random selector in the middle of the room looks like the Gantz ball.

And the second that kid started talking, how calm he was? Sounded like maybe he had already played this game before like that homicidal psychopath kid in Gantz who had won the game several times. I can't even remember his name right Nitou? Maybe?

But it was like you framed it in a way where what if the Gantz death battles with the aliens were a mental game of chess amongst the competitors instead? Instead of the humans fighting the aliens why not just let them take eachother out and do the work for the aliens.

Because I saw so many Gantz influences in the colors of the room in the "I've done this before but really I just want to help you" way that kid behaved. I just couldn't shake that feeling from the entire movie.

I really enjoyed the film but if I hadn't seen Gantz and didn't immediately spot and single out those infuences with laser focus I may have enjoyed it even more.

Basically I was never guessing who the last one would be standing but more how he would influence the last few people into destroying themselves.

One red herring that did give me a pause for a second was the guy who was mute. I thought maybe he was an alien observer briefly maybe this entire game was meant to demonstrate or to learn about humanity. But then he died so that confused me. Never had a doubt for an instant that kid would be the last one alive in the end but I tried to predict the order of which they would be taken down and I really thought he would be one of the last ones. I really thought you is standing there doing nothing saying nothing he is their camera for the spectators. Then he died. So much for that.

And I and that duplicitious evil man alike were confused why when he killed the girl the clock was still ticking down to his death. Then it highlights her stomach. DAMN That was a heartwrenching yet great twist. He was so sure he had it all figured out and yet almost lost in that moment of fear. That was done perfectly.

There were some moments in the movie that made you wonder WHY IS THAT PERSON STILL ALIVE? HOW HAVE THEY NOT BEEN PICKED OFF YET? OR WHY WASN'T THAT PERSON SPARED? Until you realize that is what makes this film so great. To err is human. We the viewer can pick apart the film and make predictions but these contestants are in a game of death they will make mistakes because they aren't thinking clearly.

Which made me wonder when it was all said and done in the end how it was that though I was right he would be the last one alive I was wrong he had played the game more than once. He was just as confused when dropped on the earth as the rest of the survivors.

Though you notice that almost every other survivor was a pregnant woman or child.

The setting for the film relied entirely on the acting chops of everyone there was no way for any effect or premise to carry the film. This was just some random movie I came across on netflix that I knew nothing about and I came away truly pleasantly surprised.

I have recommended the film to many since seeing it and will continue to do so.
Now to read the other 27 pages of comments and see how many other people caught the Gantz references. Hell come to think of it the font in your movie poster even looks like the font in Gantz. How did I not see that before?

So the final round between Eric and the fetus, no one voted (because Eric thought it was over) and the players lit up like it was a tie. The previous round where no one voted, there was no "tie effect". You said earlier in this thread that this was because the final round was some how more important and needed to be shown significance (to the aliens apparently) My question is, would not the final round in their eyes occurred the second the little girl stepped off her circle, as from that point it was down to the two "life forms" as you say the circles register. Why didn't the tie beams come up at that point? Plot hole I think.

I love this movie. It's cool that they answered questions on Imdb. I wish I could have asked the creators questions about it