Writer/director Siddiq Barmak makes his film debut with Osama, the first all-Afghan feature released since the end of the Taliban rule. In the early days of the regime, a young girl (Marina Golbahari) and her widowed mother (Zobeydeh Sahar) participate in a demonstration for women's right to work. When the demonstration is broken up by the Taliban, they hide out with local street kid Espandi (Mohamad Aref Harat). When the Taliban take over a hospital where the mother secretly works, they are
arrested and jailed. In order to go to work, the mother dresses the young girl as a boy. Forced to attend school, the girl reunites with Espandi, who refers to her as Osama. She struggles to maintain her disguise in order to survive. Osama won an honorable mention at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
We've heard so much about the cruelty of the Taliban that we think we've heard it all. But there's something about seeing one small human story played out that is still overwhelming.
No histrionics or emotional manipulations here. Its view of the Taliban is frightening precisely because it is real; dramatic exaggerations are unnecessary.
Holy cow this is not a film to watch if you want a feel-good movie! The horrible life that these women (young and old) had to endure in this country boggles the mind. It's an amazing insight on a whole entire different culture that needs to never ever flourish. Very well done film. Very depressing though.
The first Afghan film since the fall of the Taliban, Osama is a harrowing story set during a dreadful regime that seems to have existed a long time ago, only it's been just a few years since it came to an end. A disturbing, moving piece of work that has the importance of a historical documentary.
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