Offside is a wonderful, quirky little movie that bears comparison to "Bend it Like Beckham". Both movies feature girls who are mad about football(soccer). In BILB, the girls had to work around custom and prejudice to prove they could play as well as the boys. In Offside, the girls have to work around the laws(it wasn’t clear to me if this was Islamic or Iranian law) to even get into the stadium to watch the game!
It’s the 2005 World Cup semi-finals, and Iran is playing Bahrain. All of Tehran is headed to the football stadium, including one small, sturdy "boy" in a black baseball cap with strange flaps, his cheeks painted with the Iranian flag, his head down, dressed in baggy gear styled just like a homeboy on the streets of L.A. without the bling.
He doesn’t interact as exuberantly as the other fans on the bus, but keeps to himself. The reason for his reticence soon becomes apparent at the checkpoints at the gates where the tickets are taken and the punters are checked for(I assume) weapons. "He" is really a "She"!
I won’t reveal any more of the plot, only to say that the girls, for we follow several of them who have made their way into the stadium, are herded into a little pen outside the bleachers on one of the upper levels of the stadium and guarded by some very glum guards who would much rather be watching the game!
How the guys and girls interact forms the rest of the movie, and it is a charmer. Director/Writer Jafar Panahi keeps the pace moving, and the sassy girls turn the tables on the typical Western perception of Islamic women as being in some sort of mental purdah! Those guards have their hands full, and there is one scene in particular which is hysterical in its set-up, and then the pay-off when the poor guard realizes he’s been duped.
Guards and Girls all share a love of sport, and each girl has a reason for coming to the stadium that is gradually revealed. Some are more poignant than others. Golnaz Farmani, as the girl in the chador, does an especially nice turn. For me though, it was Ayda Sadeqi who stole the show as the "soccer girl" who sneaked in wearing a soldier’s uniform.
Parental Alert:(Since I don’t speak Farsi, I can’t comment on the language in this film. If you do, you might want to preview it before showing it to kids.) There is no violence. A mild scene of menace to the girls. One hysterical bathroom scene with no nudity.
I was fascinated by this film, as it showed a totally believable chemistry between men and women drawn together through a love of their country at a sporting event. It’s also a commentary on the rights of women in Iran today, made by an Iranian director.
It’s nice to see a movie that doesn’t need profanity and nudity to make a point about men and women, and it made even me, who can’t tell a football from a roasted chicken, enjoy the game.
So, go take a chance and go OFFSIDE!