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Osama Movie Review

Osama is a 2003 Afghan drama film directed by Siddiq Barmak and starring Marina Golbahari. It is a phenomenal movie that is very tough to sit through.

After the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the restriction of women in public life, a pre-teen girl is forced to masquerade as a boy in order to find work to support her mother and grandmother. The premise of this film is similar to the Oscar-nominated animated film ‘The Breadwinner’, but this is overall a much better, more emotional movie.

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This was just a very difficult story to sit through. The movie is hyperrealistic to the point of becoming uncomfortable, maddening viewing. At times I thought that I was watching a genuine documentary instead of a narrative feature, which just goes to show how grounded in reality and meticulously detailed Osama really is.

The first half offers a look at the country under the Taliban rule and especially how hard it is for women and protesters, who end up being jailed pretty quickly. But the second half is where the film reaches true greatness and unparalleled horror as we follow this young girl who pretends to be a boy, but ends up being drafted to the Taliban cause with hundreds of pre-pubescent boys as well.

What happens then infuriated me. They discover her true gender and instead of decapitating her, they give her away to an old pervert. The final sequence where we see a bunch of his wives, both older and disturbingly young, was just heartbreaking to witness. Just the fact that the filmmakers weren’t afraid to show all of the atrocious sides to the Taliban needs to be admired.

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Thus, this film became an instant classic and a highly important lesson against Islamist policies and extremism in religion, especially this least progressive and most dangerous faith of them all. Osama is even more important nowadays then it had been during its release unfortunately because the country is once again under the Taliban and hope is truly looking bleak there.

Siddiq Barmak masterfully directed this entire film. His work here is both confident, deep and just raw in its hyperrealism. Everything from its technical aspects to its storytelling needs to be admired, but his biggest contribution to this movie has to be the ending.

You see, at first he decided to shoot a happy ending to counteract all the evil that had come before it. However, by choosing eventually to end the movie on a very bleak note, Osama became even more powerful. Unfortunately, there is very little hope in Afghanistan under the Taliban, so it was only responsible to depict the worst ending possible, which of course did not help it be more enjoyable to watch whatsoever.

The titular character was apparently performed by an unknown actress, a girl who was taken from the streets to act here, and what a revelation she is. Marina Golbahari not only has a memorable, cinematic look to her, but her facial acting is particularly inspired and worth all the praise in the world.

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Some of the other characters needed better arcs, especially her male friend that felt conflicting in his portrayal, but she is the heart of the film. The movie obviously is too hard to watch, but essential. The cinematography and score also capture the eeriness and desperation of its setting and situation.