Missing the World Cup? The debut feature by all-time great Abbas Kiarostami is a wondrous ode to footie featuring one of his signature incredible child performances. 

Kiarostami fans will be pleased to know that right from the start, the maestro showed an extraordinary ability to depict the small terrors and indignities of childhood. Telling the story of a troubled boy's attempt to get to Tehran for a football game using any means necessary, Kiarostami manages to wring an unbelievable amount of tension out of the seemingly slight story, while the b&w camerawork allows us a fascinating glimpse of Iran on the eve of the 1979 revolution.

If you haven't seen any Kiarostami films yet, you're in for a treat - this little gem shows why he is among the top ranks of Cube faves. 

"It's a fine example of how truthful cinema can be when it rejects melodrama and empty gesture in order to concentrate on the bare essentials of character and plot. It's sweetly observed, morally coherent, utterly simple and fiercely economical."

Matthew Sweet, Independent on Sunday