Offside

I tried to watch this with a friend last night who I recently turned on to Iranian cinema and who fell in love with the genre. We could only make it about 45 minutes through before our heads started to ache from rolling our eyes in disbelief at the stupidity of the story and the complete lack of any sympathetic characters on either side of the "controversy,." Real soccer hooligans anywhere in the world do not behave with the unbelievable level of timidity depicted by the female protagonists in this story; the guards would have been cut to shreds inside of about 3 minutes even if the female fans were not fueled by alcohol. And it' strains all credulity to imagine that the Iranian Army would have a small squadron devoted to keeping a few girls in a playpen to keep them from attending a soccer match. I know it's just a story but it's not a very good one. If you are expecting anything even remotely on the level of Majidi or Ghobadi not to mention some of the better more obscure Iranian filmmakers you are going to be sorely disappointed. Don't say you weren't warned.

It's 2005 in Tehran and Iran is playing Bahrain for the chance to advance to the World Cup. There are 100,000 spectators cheering on the Iranian team. What's wrong with that picture? They're all men - or supposed to be. Iran doesn't allow women to attend sporting events. The official reason is they will be exposed to foul language and men's legs (the players presumably). The real reason, of course, is women are discriminated against in Iran. However, not all the fans are men at the game - they just all look like men. Some are young girls (who are allowed to play soccer) who want to see the game so badly they try to disguise themselves as men and buy a ticket. Some make it but the 'gender police' are out in full force and some are caught. This is a film (banned in Iran by the way) about those who are arrested. They are taken to a holding pen right outside the stadium where they can hear but not see the game. The film is mostly about the interaction between these young female fans and the young male guards who are assigned to make sure they are 'tortured' by hearing but not seeing. While making the point well about discrimination, the film is also a light hearted story about how young men and women in Iran see their roles and the lengths some young women will go to see a forbidden soccer match. Don't expect soccer action (actual game footage is measured in seconds) but a good story about culture and another opportunity to learn about a country we hear so much about but really don't know much about. Much of the film was shot at the stadium the actual day of the big match so it has an authentic feel - a kind of docudrama feel.

I had misunderstood what the movie was about. I thought it was about a team of female soccer players who were not allowed to play. Not so. It is about women who love soccer (and who play themselves, but not during the movie) who are not allowed into the stadium to watch their men's national team compete.It turned out that the movie was much more captivating, more subtle, more interesting than I had hoped. You get a glimpse of the power relationship between men and women, between enforcers and "victims" of morality laws in Persian society, and it turns out it is not quite the way you may have expected. There is considerable ambivalence on both sides, and you get to witness a disarming kind of micro-free speech that I had not anticipated.The movie was neither preachy, nor overly melodramatic. It's just a slice of life today in the Republic of Iran, leaving you to reflect and draw your own conclusions.My young children 12, 12, and 15 also greatly enjoyed the movie. So it's not just for adults with an interest in foreign relations.

Everyone should watch this film. It's simple, beautifully made, and builds a lot of understanding and empathy for humans living in Iran.

Great for my Eng. II world Lit class.

The subject of the movie is great and show women limitations in Iran

Watched for a class project, good movie

Great message.

This is another one of those films which probably wouldn't have received such positive reviews if it hadn't been made in a foreign country whose film industry remains largely unexplored by western audiences. Yes, it is entertaining, and it does provide an insight into some interesting aspects of Iranian culture, but far better movies have been produced in the region in my opinion. If you're interested in low-budget/indie Iranian cinema you may also want to check out 'No One Knows about Persian Cats'.

The film was incredible I recommend watching it to anyone with the ability. My copy was unfortunately region 4 (Oceania) so I did need to watch it using VLC but it was nonetheless a great piece of film.

If you consider Iran to be a world away from the UK and peoples experiences to be completely different then watch this film and enjoy the shared experience of womens rights and football.

Not really funny. Interesting to see how feisty the girls are in this situation but a bit dull overall.

Very funny.