Offside

Exhilarating, exuberant and drolly funny.

The rare Iranian film that is not only thoughtful and thought-provoking but also a lot of fun.

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.

Offside is a slow slog through bloated scenes with little happening. Framed and shot like a crude documentary, it proceeds in long, clunky takes, as if an editor couldn't be bothered.

Humanizes the Iranians and shows that they're just as crazy about their sports as Westerners, if not more. If anything, it proves that soccer is truly an international language, providing an arena where anyone can communicate.

[Director] Panahi has perfected the art of realist filmmaking, here turning his camera on scenes that seem more improvised or captured on the fly than staged.

It's frustrating that anyone can't just watch football in a stadium but a gripping film

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.

Panahi interweaves their anxiety with the relatable urgency of watching a game.

...reveals pockets of empathy existing in defiance of Iran's oppressive regime.