Offside (2006)
17KOffside (2006). 1h 33m | PG
“Jafar Panahiu0026#39;s comedy-drama u0026quot;Offsideu0026quot; portrays some women trying to enter a Tehran sports arena from which women are banned. The official reason: lots of foul language, and the soccer players have their legs showing. But of course, itu0026#39;s really a case of sexism. So, most of the movie consists of mild comic relief as the women try to ask the men serious questions about why women are banned from the stadium, and one woman even comes up with her own scheme to defy the men.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs I understand, all of Jafar Panahiu0026#39;s movies (this one included) are banned in Iran. The real tragedy is that the CIAu0026#39;s 1953 overthrow of the prime minister and subsequent backing of the brutal shah gave Ayatollah Khomeini an excuse to use his narrow interpretation of the Koran to establish a chauvinistic society, and that George W. Bushu0026#39;s current policy towards Iran gives Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an excuse to act the cowboy and tighten censorship.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAbove all, this is a neat look at people coming up with ways to challenge the system. Not a great movie, but worth seeing. Considering that all Jafar Panahiu0026#39;s movies are banned, I wonder how heu0026#39;s able to even make them.”
