A young girl, feebly disguised as a boy, makes her way into the recent World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain. Sadly, women are barred from entering Tehran Stadium and she soon finds herself apprehended by soldiers. A crowd gathers around urging them to make an exception, but she’s swiftly escorted to a holding pen, filled with other female football fans, guilty of the same heinous crime. They demand a full commentary from their baffled captors, who point out that the vice squad are coming to take them away. When our young heroine responds with an echo of Shankly’s most quoted profundity, you know she means it as much as he did. To hell with life and death, this is football.
Offside immediately announces itself as Iranian fare, belonging firmly within the same class of freewheeling verite vignette we’ve come to associate with the Makhmalbaf family, or indeed, Panahi’s own films The White Balloon and The Circle. Shot in lively docudrama style against the actual match – the final result would determine the film’s upbeat ending – Offside easily justifies itself as a rallying cry against a dreadful social injustice. Equally commendable is the film’s ability to communicate the sheer, simple joy and strange comedy associated with supporting a football team.
Unfortunately, Dolby processing laboratories in the US have refused to handle the film due to its nationality. Worse still, Offside remains effectively banned on its native soil. Few then, will have the opportunity to see Mr. Panahi’s perfect pre-World Cup offering. Now that really is offside.