I'm fascinated by many of the ideas in Offside. The political and social context is a winning formula for a film. The lead character is interesting and her passion and her dilemma are relevant and intriguing, but I found the film itself ever so dull.
My theory on this is that Iranian (and possibly other Islamic) storytelling is a hard medium for me, as a westerner, to relate to. I expect film to be designed, to look the way it does on purpose, and because of that, to be different from walking around in daily life, and different from a home video made by a teenager. I've been left with the same feeling about every Iranian film I can remember except for "The Cow", and about several other stories from a similar cultural background. "Offside" has at least finally lead me to spot this pattern, and sadly I may not bother with any more Iranian films because of it.
My theory on this is that Iranian (and possibly other Islamic) storytelling is a hard medium for me, as a westerner, to relate to. I expect film to be designed, to look the way it does on purpose, and because of that, to be different from walking around in daily life, and different from a home video made by a teenager. I've been left with the same feeling about every Iranian film I can remember except for "The Cow", and about several other stories from a similar cultural background. "Offside" has at least finally lead me to spot this pattern, and sadly I may not bother with any more Iranian films because of it.