It is the day of the World Cup qualifier between Iran and Bahrain in Tehran, and the men are arriving from all over the country - but so are a few women, which is a big no-no as women are banned from attending football matches in Iran. Nevertheless, some do dress up as guys to sneak their way in, those that do not get caught that is, and among them is one girl (Sima Mobarak-Shahi) with her face painted in the colours of the Iranian flag. She is determined to get inside the stadium, but will find it's not as simple as finding the right disguise...
As with writer (with Shadmehr Rastin) and director Jafar Panahi's other films from his native Iran, Offside was banned for viewing in that nation's cinemas and only available for its citizens to see it on pirate DVDs. This was more lighthearted than its tackling of women's rights might suggest, while still sustaining a serious message, making it far more accessible than a dry lecture on the subject might have done. Panahi was sharp enough to see the humour in the situation, and those expecting a film taking down a restrictive government might be surprised at how warmly it treated the characters.
The film makes it clear that women are not banned from football matches because they are being treated as second class citizens, as after all they're allowed to play the sport themselves (and it's worth pointing out that men are not allowed in to spectate on their matches, so it works both ways). No, what emerges is that the men of the country are acting out of a protective point of view: they don't want their ladies subjected to the uncouth men at football games and their swearing and fighting. Some might see this as hopelessly condescending, yet as portrayed here it's oddly sweet.
But some rules are meant to be broken and the young women that the first girl ends up sharing a makeshift pen with are determined to see the game no matter what. Unfortunately for them, the soldiers in charge are good at spotting the females and perhaps too much of the film is centred around a group of girls muttering and arguing with the exasperated soldiers while fenced off outside away from the rest of the cheering crowd. They do manage some amusing lines, though, and you can't help but laugh in agreement at what Westerners would consider the indisputable logic to their reasoning.
What does impress about Offside is that it was all carefully planned in advance to be filmed on the day of the actual qualifier - Panahi got permission for that, at least. We see about as much of the match as the girls do, the odd glimpse over the crowd's heads and that's about it, though there are humorous interludes such as when one of the girls, a budding footballer herself, needs to go to the bathroom but has to be accompanied by one of the soldiers to the gents' because of course there are no women's facilities. Panahi took a chance on there being a happy outcome to his film, and he does make an unsteady lurch into schmaltz near the end, but recovers for a note of triumph in what was really an affectionate slice of Iranian life which gently suggests (women's education is mentioned) that things will grow more equal there. Music by Yuval Barazani and Korosh Bozogpour.
