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Offside

Play trailer Poster for Offside PG Released Mar 23, 2007 1h 32m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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94% Tomatometer 85 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Since women are banned from soccer matches, Iranian females masquerade as males so they can slip into Tehran's stadium to see the game between Iran and Bahrain. The ones who are caught and arrested are taken to a holding area and guarded by soldiers. One sympathetic soldier agrees to watch the game through a peephole and recount the action to the impatient fans.
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Offside

Offside

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Critics Consensus

A spirited film that explores gender politics with comedy, intelligence, and a variety of interesting characters.

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Critics Reviews

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Carrie Rickey Philadelphia Inquirer Exhilarating, exuberant and drolly funny. Rated: 3.5/4 Aug 4, 2007 Full Review John Monaghan Detroit Free Press The rare Iranian film that is not only thoughtful and thought-provoking but also a lot of fun. Rated: 3/4 Jun 15, 2007 Full Review Marrit Ingman Austin Chronicle Its ruminations on secular Iranian nationalism are effectively couched within the characters, and the film, which won the Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear but is banned in Iran, has a refreshing slyness to it, as if it's getting away with something too. Rated: 4/5 Jun 8, 2007 Full Review Rachel Wagner Rachel's Reviews (YouTube) It's frustrating that anyone can't just watch football in a stadium but a gripping film Dec 17, 2023 Full Review Noah Gittell Washington City Paper It’s a rich text: a love letter to the people of Iran, a fiercely complex portrayal of systemic misogyny, and a plea to Western countries not to judge the Iranian people by their government. Feb 4, 2023 Full Review Ruhaan Shah Film Companion Panahi interweaves their anxiety with the relatable urgency of watching a game. May 16, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Stephen C Funny in 1 hour and 32 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated PG for Some Thematic Elements and Language Throughout!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Persian and American English audio versions with American English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $179,900.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/08/25 Full Review Gerardo C Lovely film that plays around sensible subjects yet does it in the brightest manner. One can feel the love people put in this film and cheers for the characters like a football fan. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Panahi's guerilla filmmaking (during an actual football match no less) occasionally borders on documentary and gives "Offside" its authenticity, but also deprives it of a more cinematic quality. The importance of the message goes without saying, and it's underlined even further by the gradual change in the soldiers' stance. However, despite a few stand-out moments, the directorial style (or absence thereof), scant script and amateur acting are definitely limiting. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Almost a documentary, the movie is more important by its social issues than for its cinematographical values. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Not a great movie, lots of holes throughout the plot. Extremely misleading and various pointless scenes in which had no relevance to the movie what so ever. Critics who gave this a 94% shouldn't be reviewing movies Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review filippo v Con una grande abilità nel mantenere sullo stesso piano tutti i personaggi, questo film iraniano riesce a comunicare il messaggio con grande trasparenza e realismo. Anche se avrei preferito dei mezzi più intelligenti e meno diretti, l'anima che sta alla base del film è totalmente apprezzabile. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Offside

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Cast & Crew

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Jafar Panahi

Director

Sima Mobarakshai

First Girl

Safar Samandar

Soldier From Azerbaijan

Shayesteh Irani

Smoking Girl

Mohamad Kheirabadi

Soldier from Mashad

Aida Sadeghi

Soccer Girl

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Offside

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Movie Info

Synopsis Since women are banned from soccer matches, Iranian females masquerade as males so they can slip into Tehran's stadium to see the game between Iran and Bahrain. The ones who are caught and arrested are taken to a holding area and guarded by soldiers. One sympathetic soldier agrees to watch the game through a peephole and recount the action to the impatient fans.
Director
Jafar Panahi
Producer
Jafar Panahi
Screenwriter
Jafar Panahi, Shadmehr Rastin
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Rating
PG (Some Thematic Elements|Language Throughout)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
Persian
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 23, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 30, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$179.9K
Runtime
1h 32m
Sound Mix
DTS
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