Offside - (4 out of 5 stars)

If I had to sum up Offside in one word, it would be "authentic." The story revolves around several young women, one in particular, who try to sneak into a stadium and watch an important international soccer event. In Iran, women are forbidden from attending sports events. Apparently, some courageous women will dress up as young men and hope that no one will be the wiser. For the women in Offside, however, the plan fails and the meat of the story ensues.

Now, by "authentic," I do not mean to imply that I am Iranian and would therefore know which parts accurately reflect Iranian culture and which parts do not. I am not and I haven't a clue. What I am referring to is director Jafar Panahi's ability to bring us engaging characters and a portrayal that goes beyond delivering one-dimensional messages, i.e., women good, men bad. Here, the young men too seem to be caught up in a system that has them wedged between a rock and a hard place. Also lending to the movie's authenticity is footage of actual occurrences which took place immediately following this particular game. By incorporating this footage into a couple of scenes, Panahi, possibly unknowingly, provides viewers like myself with a rare glimpse into a culture we know little about. Although there were points where the argumentative pitch of a few scenes started to wear on me, as the characters gradually drew me in, that aspect also factored into the film's authenticity.

So I kind of have this acquaintance who often harps on what he sees as a trend in foreign movies to "air their cultural dirty laundry to the glee of western audiences." Part of what really kept it real for me was the feeling that Offside, and its message around inequality between the genders, is intended for Iranian audiences first and foremost. That especially comes across in certain scenes where one particularly tough young woman rebuffs a lot of her male captors' excuses for why women should not attend the games. Panahi is able to get the message about sexism in Iran out in a way that I found very effective and conveys a sincere interest in inspiring Iranians to engage in discussion and considerations about the subject. Perhaps because of how the love of country and culture, especially from the women, is vividly depicted, I did not get the feeling that the movie was being used as a vehicle for snitching on Iranian society to western audiences. That said, it is a very touching film from which we westerners also can truly learn a lot.