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

| Dec 17, 2023

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

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

| May 16, 2020

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

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 4, 2012

Posits an exhilarating, ephemeral sense of cultural inclusiveness

| Aug 27, 2009

Another no-frills success from one of Iran's most accessible directors.

| Aug 3, 2008

Engaging, insightful, and crowd-pleasing comedy sports drama.

| Original Score: A- | Sep 28, 2007

A plea for cultural evolution that doesn't point fingers, instead only hoping that the next generations will wake up and take the sensible steps towards the future.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Sep 13, 2007

A phenomenal work... the sort of satire where reality is its own punchline.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 11, 2007

A protest film that disarms the opposition with a feather, not a cudgel...

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 7, 2007

If you like to see an inspirational sports film, with an amusing spin on the genre, then Offside is well worth the watch.

| Original Score: B | Sep 4, 2007

From the Western perspective, the feisty protagonists' predicament might seem silly, until it gradually sinks in that this treatment is business as usual in a backward land that seems to have gotten stuck in the Middle Ages. Alley Oop lives!

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 29, 2007

Jafar Panahi's film is disarming because it presents a mostly good natured, at times humorous, approach to issues that are extremely serious.

Full Review | Original Score: 78/100 | Aug 28, 2007

Exhilarating, exuberant and drolly funny.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 4, 2007

A film of masks . . . Droll comedy and wry ironies artfully disguise Panahi's poignant questioning of national pride, governing the public good, and even the sadness mixed in with past victories.

Full Review | Jul 18, 2007

a gem that should not be missed.

| Original Score: B+ | Jul 14, 2007

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

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 15, 2007

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.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 8, 2007

Although the game is not seen, it provides a kinetic, real-time, documentary-like backdrop for a story structured like a game itself, albeit one where neither compassion nor logic apply, and at which everyone loses.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 7, 2007

It's not exactly exciting material, but Panahi's gentle humor and sense of realism keep it from becoming dull.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 1, 2007