Offside (2006) starring Sima Mobarak-Shahi, Shayesteh Irani, Ayda Sadeqi, Golnaz Farmani, Mahnaz Zabihi, Nazanin Sediq-zadeh directed by Jafar Panahi Movie Review

Offside (2006)   4/54/54/54/54/5


Offside (2006) starring Sima Mobarak-Shahi, Shayesteh Irani, Ayda Sadeqi, Golnaz Farmani, Mahnaz Zabihi, Nazanin Sediq-zadeh

Football United

As Iran play Bahrain in an important qualifying game for the World cup a group of girls try to get into the stadium despite being forbidden. They find themselves placed under guard by young soldiers in a fenced off area on the outside of the stadium where they desperately try to persuade them to let them watch.

To be honest that brief synopsis for "Offside" says very little about the movie because whilst we have this story we also have a smart and funny movie. The smart side focuses on the law which says that women can't enter the stadium in order to protect them from the language or read the graffiti on the wall in a toilet. It doesn't mock this law but suggests that not only is the real basis sexism but also the irony of women from other nationalities being able to watch because they won't understand what is being said. We also see the extent what these young women will go to try and get pass security to get into the stadium where many of the young men are not bothered if a girl is in there with them.

But the thing is that all of this is wrapped up in so much humour from the amusing way one girl gets in by helping a blind man through security to the situation of these poor guards having to deal with a group of girls who keep on badgering them. The most hilarious of these situations is where one girl needs the toilet and in order to protect her she is forced to wear a poster of a football player over her face. It is a brilliant scene because it is so comical yet also delivers the smart side of the movie over the idiocracy of the rules.

Then there is a final element to "Offside" and that is whilst on one hand we have these girls breaking the law and young men having to guard them they find a bond through their countries football team. Some may say it is a cliche that despite being opposites they bond but it is the truth and week in week out people from every walk of life bond through supporting their team. It wraps up "Offside" nicely to highlight that the young girls are no different to anyone else especially those who have a passion for football and their national team.

What this all boils down to is that "Offside" being an Iranian movie and one which looks like it is about football may not be the sort of movie you would watch but I can't recommend it enough. It is clever and funny and thankfully makes you realise that original cinema is not dead.


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