On the surface, this may sound like it's about football, but it isn't. You don't even get to see more than a few seconds of the match, and even that is poorly shown.
What the film does is put the viewer in the place of young women in Islamic Iran who are banned from attending matches. The national team is about to play Bahrain; if they win, they qualify for the World Cup. A number of girls try to sneak past security, and this film focuses on the girls who get caught and the soldiers assigned to guard them in a sort of impromptu prison.
It's a very indie-sort of film, very visceral and direct. There are no great actors, there's no soundtrack, most of the footage has a raw and almost documentary look to it. But the conversations between the girls and their guards (as well as among the guards) lead to significant questions being asked about the injustice of that society, not only to the women but also the men. We come to admire the passion of these girls for a sport from which they are banned, and yet are willing to risk jail time (or worse? It's never quite made clear) in order to watch this one epic international match.
I also strongly recommend watching the interview with the director, which is one of the extras on the disc. Reveals so much about the making of the film, the hostility of the official government censors, why it couldn't be considered for an Oscar, etc.
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