2006 NYFF-OFFSIDE

OFFSIDE

Ida Sadeghi in Offside
Directed by Jafar Panahi, Iran

Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Classics

        When one thinks of foreign
contemporary filmmakers who could
be considered directors of great
female roles, one immediately thinks of someone like Pedro Almodóvar.
I would like to suggest that another person who should be thought of in the
same breath is Jafar Panahi, the Iranian director whose credits include
THE WHITE BALLOON and THE CIRCLE. He confirms this with his latest effort
OFFSIDE, a slice-of-life drama about a group of young girls who are soccer
fans and who desperately want to watch Iran play in a qualifying match for
the World Cup.

        Iran is a patriarchal society and women are forbidden to participate in
certain events. Females are allowed to watch televised versions of the soccer
matches, but cannot attend in person, ostensibly because they would be
offended by the vulgar language used by the men watching the game but also
because they are not allowed to watch men in shorts that close up and in person.
Panahi's own daughter was denied permission to attend a soccer game and
that was the inspiration for this drama.

        Despite the ban, many young girls often attempt to sneak into the
stadium by disguising themselves as boys. It has become such a problem
that there are now army guards at the entrances who search everyone
entering. If caught, the women are held in a pen where they can hear the
game but not watch it before they are taken to the police headquarters.
Panahi's group of disparate young women range from a tomboy to a timid
pre-teen to a girl brazen enough to wear an army uniform. They are watched
over by guards who clearly would rather be somewhere else.

        Panahi captures the startling way that women tease and
intimidate men as well as one another. There's a sisterhood, but there's
also a competition and it's all on display in this terrific documentary-like
feature. As with most Iranian films, the cast is comprised of non-professionals
who lend a verisimilitude to work. There's a moment near the end as the
group wait in hushed silence to listen to the end of the game that is uplifting
and beautifully staged. My one complaint is that the final sequence of the
film ran a bit too long. Otherwise, OFFSIDE was one of the highlights of the
44th New York Film Festival.

                                Rating:                B +
                                Running time:     99 mins