Offside (2006)★ 7.7/10

“Offside” is a superior effort to “The Circle” and the only other Panahi film I've seen so far that works on several levels. It contains strong political and sociological undertones, but unlike “The Circle”, it deals with them in a clear-headed, almost humorous manner. It could also be seen as a sports movie focused on female empowerment. These girls don't back down no matter what happens to them. The film is shot in a Cinéma vérité style, and it manages to build quite a bit of tension despite its simple setup. It's a very accessible film, and I'm not surprised it won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Don't miss it!

The minimalist cinematography lends an almost ethnographic immediacy to the images - a real-time urgency that works well with Panahi's unique approach. Bars, frames, and architecture seem to constantly obstruct the hand-held image, in the same way, that these 5 central characters seem trapped and marred in oppression so mindlessly ingrained within their respective culture. Besides, the 5 women whom we focused on brought to the film such genuine emotions that it's hard not to be immersed in their shared moments of bliss.

No other sport in this world evokes such strong emotions among its fans like football. Passion can be seen in their eyes. Without the movie even showing a scene on the field, I could feel every minute of the game coming alive. This is one of my favorite movies of the year! A MUST WATCH FOR ALL LOVERS OF CINEMA OR SPORTS!

Iranian movies are seriously impressive. The director portrayed a vivid world within the two ten-square-meter screen space. I'm not really a fan of this somewhat idealistic ending, but the director did nail what he was trying to convey. Who says this is just a soccer movie, anyway?

This is probably the second Iranian film I've watched, and I was really impressed with the director's earlier work, “Taxi,” which I enjoyed a lot, too. The director has a lot of messages to convey, and each shot is meticulously set up in this one. The movie centers around a soccer game, capturing the oppression of the system and the depth of human emotions. The final scene, where the girls in the security guard's car cheer and celebrate upon hearing on the radio that the Iranian team has won, is truly heartwarming.

The movie explores a complex side of society by highlighting a seemingly ordinary event - a World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain. However, beyond just criticism, we also get a sense of the Iranians' deep passion for sports. This passion resulted in a wonderful outcome: Iran secured a spot in the World Cup finals that very night. They joyfully set off a few small fireworks on the bus, and the soldiers shared their emotions. Overall, this film is worth watching regardless if you are a soccer fan.

O diretor Jafar Panahi disse certa vez: "Uso os jogos de futebol como uma metáfora para mostrar a discriminação contra as mulheres em maior escala. Esse é o tema central de todos os meus filmes. Isso é o que estou tentando mudar na sociedade iraniana.". Em 2010, Panahi foi preso e condenado a seis anos de prisão, com proibição de fazer filmes por 20 anos. A proibição do "impedimento" ainda persiste. No final, o amor pelo futebol finalmente quebrou todas as amarras da identidade. Mas a realidade continua difícil. Espero sinceramente que todos possam ter mais liberdade, significando simplesmente ter o direito de fazer as próprias escolhas e o direito à igualdade de tratamento.

Último filme de Jafar Panahi antes da prisão. Conta a história de torcedoras sendo proibidas de entrar no estádio. O diretor utiliza um estilo documental (coincidentemente, tanto os filmes quanto o futebol têm 90 minutos) e atores não profissionais para contar a história sobre regras/tabu (regras sociais/regras do futebol) e liberdade/valores globais (a Copa do Mundo).

Esta es la última película de Jafar Panahi antes de que fuera a la cárcel. Cuenta la historia de unas fanáticas a las que les prohíben entrar al estadio. El director usó el estilo del documental (casualmente, la película dura 90 minutos como los partidos de fútbol) y eligió a actores no profesionales para que cuenten la historia sobre las reglas/ los tabúes (las reglas sociales/ las reglas del fútbol) y la libertad/ los valores globales (la Copa del Mundo).

Creo que esta es la segunda película iraní que vi y me acuerdo que me gustó bastante su película anterior Taxi. El director quiere transmitir un montón de información y cada toma está bien dispuesta. Como la historia se desarrolla en torno a un partido de fútbol, podemos sentir la opresión del sistema y las emociones de la humanidad. Al final, cuando estaban en el auto y las escoltaron hasta la comisaría, escucharon en la radio que el equipo iraní había ganado y gritaron con entusiasmo y se alegraron. Este es el final cálido que nos dio el director.

El director Jafar Panahi dijo una vez: "uso los partidos de fútbol como una metáfora para mostrar la discriminación contra las mujeres a gran escala. Este es el tema central de todas mis películas. Esto es lo que intento cambiar de la sociedad iraní". En 2010, detuvieron a Panahi y lo condenaron a seis años en prisión y le prohibieron hacer películas por 20 años. Todavía persiste la prohibición de "offside". En definitiva, el amor por el fútbol finalmente rompió las cadenas de la identidad. Pero la realidad sigue siendo dura. Sinceramente espero que todos puedan tener más libertad y con "libertad" me refiero a que todos puedan tener derecho a tomar sus propias decisiones y a tener un trato equitativo.

Las películas de Jafar Panahi siempre tienen un toque de ternura, son afiladas pero no duras. El soldado que vacía el baño de los hombres, la hermana que dice "esta vaca me da pena", el pequeño líder del equipo que sostiene la antena, el vendedor infantil desafortunado: desde esta perspectiva, casi todos son amables, pero el dilema originado por la disciplina moral es desgarrador. El poder contagioso del fútbol es realmente extraordinario. Incluso yo que no soy fanático del fútbol, lloré un poco en la segunda mitad de la película.