“ This Internationally acclaimed award-winning film casually and sometimes caustically uncovers what binds us and blinds us to the differences between our ways of life in the West with modern day
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Several young Iranian women dress as boys and try to get into a World Cup qualifying match between
REVIEW:
Iranian cinema is rarely big on plot, preferring to concentrate on character and situation, something it often excels at. Offside is no exception, with the bulk of the film focussed on the argumentative relationship that develops between the girls and the young soldiers guarding them. This is smartly and sometimes delightfully handled, the soldiers' initial position of authority increasingly shaken with the arrival of a fiercely defiant and confrontational girl who challenges her captors on just about every point they make, and another who has cheerfully dressed up in a soldier's uniform and gained entry to the match, but whose over-confidence got her nicked when she sat in the seat reserved for the Chief of Police.
The humour arises largely from the absurdity of the situation the girls find themselves in. When the conversation inevitably moves to the reasons for excluding women from the ground, for example, the soldiers claim that it is because they should not be subjected to the swearing that takes place when men watch the game. In the most bizarrely funny scene, one of the girls is escorted to a male toilet wearing a life-sized poster of a football player's face as a mask in order to disguise her gender, then told to cover her eyes so she will not be corrupted by the graffiti on the toilet walls.
If the film's primary concern is the unequal status of women in their own society, then it is also very much about the unifying nature of the beautiful game. And you really don't have to be a football fan to appreciate this - the sheer passion expressed by both the characters and the film itself for the game is remarkably infectious, leading to a final ten minutes consisting largely of the celebratory joy of victory, and the thrilling sense of community and equality that results. Rarely, if ever, has an Iranian film with serious political concerns ended on a note of such euphoric optimism.
Naturalistically performed and documentary-like in approach, there is a compelling sense that we are watching events very much as they happen, but the narrative is so well structured and individual scenes so effectively executed that you just know this was planned to perfection. It's hard to tell just how much of the dialogue is scripted and how much of it is improvisation, but, in either case, the actors, with their marvelously expressive faces, do a magnificent job making each moment seem utterly real and convincing. Mohammad Kheir-abadi and Shayesteh Irani are notable standouts in a uniformly excellent cast. The structure of the film is also very loose and freeform, as writer/director Jafar Panahi and co-writer Shadmehr Rastin focus for a few brief moments on one or two of the characters, then move smoothly and effortlessly onto others. With this documentary-type approach, we come to feel as if we are witnessing an actual event unfolding in "real time." Very often, it's quite easy for us to forget we're actually watching a movie.
Winner of the Silver Bear Award at Berlin Film Festival "Offside" is obviously a cry for justice, but it is one that is made all the more effective by its refusal to make of its story a heavy-breathing tragedy. Instead, it realizes that nothing breaks down social barriers quite as efficiently as humor and an appeal to the audience's common humanity. And isn't that what true art is supposed to be all about?
Title :Offside
Director :Jafar PanahiRated PG for some mature elements
Country:Iran
Language ;Persian
Subtitles; English
DVD features: Interview with Director
photo gallery
Trailer Link: www.metacafe.com/watch/450701/offside_trailer
Torrent File Name; Offside 2006 LIMITED DVDRip XviD-MESS *** www.NewTorrents.info ***
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