I was amazed at how such a simple story could be so absorbing, entertaining and humorous. Excellent look at the interplay between the stringent Iranian laws regarding women and human factors, including the personalities of the police and the young women.

An easy stand-out at this past year's New York Film Festival, Jafar Panahi's Offside is simple yet tough, a film who’s unlikely reflexivity is both a reason to praise it and think about. Carefully accumulating and juxtaposing details to form a web of metaphors and meanings, the film chronicles a group of young women who, not allowed to enter sports events due to Iranian law, disguise themselves as boys in order to enter Tehran's Azadi Stadium to watch a World Cup qualifying match.… Expand

Iranian Islamic regime and other world’s patriarchal societies from Saudi to Afghanistan are placed on notice by this unannounced, unpretentious and unofficial Middle Eastern Women feminist gesture encapsulated in this heartbreaking movie. The film despite its obvious comical propensity, flows through with a deafening tone of casual and yet ominous oppression. In a number of scenes, the movie evokes a helpless feeling mixed with a type of anxiety that one may feel watching Spielberg’s little girl in the red dress running among the ruins at the height of Gestapo’s cleansing in Schindler’s list. Yet the brilliance of these resilient and fearless Iranian women acting as the quintessential unsung heroes escalates into a sensational redeeming factor for their peers and the women from around the world. My compliments to the Mr. Panahi for providing a glimpse of Iranian women reality to the rest of world while in a way bestowing the imaginary title of 21st century Jean dArc’s on these lion heart brave and unstoppable women of Iran.… Expand

This movie was boring as hell. I've been to Iran many times and I still didn't enjoy it very much even though I managed to watch the whole thing. I got absolutely nothing out of it which is a shame cause I was sort of interested in the topic. Slow, plodding scenes, and ultimately uneventful plot makes NOT recommend this movie at all.