A handful of girls struggle to make their way into the man's world of an Iranian soccer stadium in this comedy from writer and director Jafar Panahi. World Cup season is just around the corner, and Iran's team is playing a game against Bahrain that will determine who will be competing in soccer's greatest tournament. Nearly everyone in Tehran seems to be abuzz with excitement over the game, through officially soccer in Iran is quite literally for men only -- no women are allowed inside the
stadium, and women's interest in the game is severely frowned upon. But that doesn't stop a number of girls from all over the city from trying to crash the game dressed up as boys; while some succeed, others are unable to fool security, and are sent to a holding bullpen in the stadium where they can hear the cheers of the crowd but can't see the game. One of the policemen watching over the girls (who range from rowdy tomboys to quiet and bookish types) is sympathetic and keeps them updated on the score and key plays, while another is a petty bureaucrat who suffers the mockery of his "prisoners." Offside received its North American premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Offside is a slow slog through bloated scenes with little happening. Framed and shot like a crude documentary, it proceeds in long, clunky takes, as if an editor couldn't be bothered.
Humanizes the Iranians and shows that they're just as crazy about their sports as Westerners, if not more. If anything, it proves that soccer is truly an international language, providing an arena where anyone can communicate.
A sociopolitical parable about women's rights in Iran doesn't sound like a thigh-slapper, but Offside scores a lot of laughs while making its ideological points.
[Director] Panahi has perfected the art of realist filmmaking, here turning his camera on scenes that seem more improvised or captured on the fly than staged.
A plea for cultural evolution that doesn't point fingers, instead only hoping that the next generations will wake up and take the sensible steps towards the future.
Panahi isn't shy about confronting the cultural hypocrisy, but it's less through debate than through the lively interplay between the young urban women and the provincial soldiers...
From the Western perspective, the feisty protagonists' predicament might seem silly, until it gradually sinks in that this treatment is business as usual in a backward land that seems to have gotten stuck in the Middle Ages. Alley Oop lives!
Noted Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been sentenced to six years in jail and barred from directing and producing movies for the next 20 years, according to his lawyer.Panahi, known for his internationally acclaimed movies like 'The Circle', 'White Balloon' and 'The Mirror' on humanitarian struggles in the country,
has been outspoken in his support of Iran's opposition movement, earning the wrath of the government.The filmmaker was convicted of colluding in gathering and making propaganda against the regime, lawyer Farideh Gheyrat told the Iranian state news agency, ISNA, the Guardian reported.http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/20/iran-jails-jafar-panahi-films
October 6, 2008
Stella Dallas
Super Reviewer
This Movie shows some of the hardships faced by Iranian women in Iran. Very enjoyable and educational. A Must See for any women in America who thinks she has itough
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