Review of Offside (2006) by S S — 28 Apr 2007

Another gem from Panahi, my favorite greatest Iranian director. The film is for everyone, sports fans, but feminists, lesbian/gay audiences, anyone who has felt excluded from full participation in society, should take special note. As in his great film [i]The Circle[/i], Panahi here takes up the issue of women's rights in Iran, but unlike [i]The Circle[/i], [i]Offside[/i] tells a story that is light and humorous, at least on the surface.

The premise is simple--even though women are not allowed there, some diehard female soccer fans are willing to dress as boys in order to sneak into the Worldcup qualifier against Bahrain (and the story was really filmed against that backdrop). Our story follows several who are caught and penned tantalizingly outside the game, where they argue with the young male soldiers detaining them and struggle to follow the game. Going in, I worried it might be too simple a premise, but it allows an interesting cast of characters to emerge, and a fascinating look at the psychology of a society--one that's even somewhat relevant to our own, more than I would have anticipated.

Yes, the titular metaphor is a bit obvious, but profound and deepened as the film develops: like players penalized and kept off the playing field, these young women are pointlessly being kept out of the action of their society, to which they have every right to contribute and which very much would benefit from their contributions. The rules of society are like a game. No one seems able to justify them rationally, yet everyone mostly observes them, even to some extent these rebels.

I found myself more attached to these characters than I am to most. The acting is fairly simple, stripped-down and honest--no Hollywood-style hyper-emotionalizing. Aesthetically it feels light and clean and true. Another triumph for Panahi.

Spread the word on this one.