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Osama
User Score
7.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18

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  1. Mud
    Sep 10, 2007
    0
    women used to experience safety and freedom in the time of taliban and the regime was not6 evil as being presented in the western media to justify the killing of innocent people in Afghanistan by America after they themselves conducted the twin tower blasts see loose change to know the truth.
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  2. ChadS.
    Jun 18, 2004
    8
    Did the extras, and even some of the (non-)actors with speaking parts, understand that a western, or enlightened audience would look at the treatment of women under Islamic law with disdain? When Osama is pardoned from being stoned, she is forgiven, and the flock, in response praise God, and miss the irony. Did the director tell the non-professional actors they were making an anti-Islamic, as well as an anti-Taliban movie? You've seen the girl disguise herself as a boy premise in disparate films such as "Mulan" and "The King of Masks", but given the context, our focus should be on the reality of Afghani women and not recycled screenwriting. Marina Golbahari looks like Hillary Swank as Brandon Teena as a pre-teen, and is very good. "Osama" is a little short, but by the time she arrives at her husband's house, believe me, you can't wait for the film to end. … Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. DennisP.
    Jul 4, 2004
    8
    More educational than entertaining. Experiencing the cruelty of the Taliban through the eyes of a 12 year old girl is difficult at times, but undeniably powerful.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. Dan
    Jun 8, 2005
    9
    Beautiful, elegant, unflinching, profound.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. CameronS.
    Apr 19, 2004
    8
    Hard hitting and never heavy handed.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. TheWiseKing
    Apr 26, 2004
    9
    Essential viewing. A beautiful, sad film which elegantly portrays the suffering of the Afghans under Islamic fundamentalist rule. If anyone is confused about the motives of the evil theocratic barbarians who perpetrated mass murder on our soil on September 11, let them see this film.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. danl.
    May 20, 2005
    9
    The ending is the best part even tho ppl said they didnt like it.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. DavidG.
    Jun 27, 2005
    10
    A very good movie I thought. Powerful and disturbing at times. American women and whining kids here who think they have it bad should see this movie. I sincerely hope Marina Golbahari realizes her dream of being an actress. She was excellent. A very good movie.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. BethL.
    Feb 27, 2004
    3
    "Osama" provided some insight into the lives of women (and young men) in pre-9/11 Afghanistan. I don't think it showed enough of the characters' lives before the premise of the movie, though, and definitely not enough of the oppression the women were experiencing. The dialect seemed a bit forced at times and I did not at all feel for the characters. It was a very long 82 minutes
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. MikeL.
    Feb 27, 2004
    7
    Osama was a very interesting movie. What I didn't like was the fact that it relied too heavily on the viewer's knowledge of life under the Taliban regime to create empathy for its characters, particularly its women characters. The script was a bit heavy handed in parts. At one point the mother basically outright says that she wishes that her husband and brother hadn't been killed in the Afghan Russian war. I guess what I'm saying is that the plot devices weren't the most elegant. On the whole though, I thought that given a non-professional writer and cast and the fact that this is the first movie out of Afghanistan since the Americans invaded in 2001 this movie was a success although I can't justify higher than a 7. I recommend that everyone go see it though.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. NiallM.
    May 15, 2005
    8
    The winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign-Language Film, Osama is a heartbreaking depiction of life under the brutal Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Filmed over the course of year, this spare and artfully told drama from Siddiq Barmak has a gritty authenticity reminiscent of the Italian neo-realist films of Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief) and Roberto Rossellini (Open City). A cast of non-professionals, many of whom Barmak discovered on the street or in refugee camps, gives uniformly fine performances in a profoundly moving story that demonstrates the power of art to enlighten and entertain. Shot on location in the bombed-out streets of Kabul, Osama puts a very human face on the Taliban's oppression of women. A young girl (the expressive Marina Golhahari) lives with her widowed mother (Zubaida Sahar) and grandmother in abject poverty. Forbidden to leave the house without a male escort, the girl's mother cuts her daughter's hair so she can pass as a boy. Although she's terrified of being exposed, the young girl goes to work for a kindly shopkeeper who fought alongside her late fath r against the Soviets. Unfortunately, the girl's delicate features and ignorance of religious custom arouse the suspicions of a Taliban leader. He forces her to attend a religious school/Taliban training camp, where she struggles to blend in with the other boys. A street urchin (Aref Herati) who knows her secret becomes her protector. To that end, he introduces her as Osama, but no matter how hard she tries to pass as male, she is ultimately betrayed by her own physiology. While Osama is Barmak's first film, it feels like the work of an experienced director who knows that "less is more." Barmak doesn't linger over the horrors of life under the Taliban or milk the heroine's story for pathos. He tells the story simply and honestly, with refreshing economy (the film has a running time of only 82 minutes). Working with his gifted cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafuri, Barmak takes viewers deep into a world that most of us know only superficially from the nightly news. It's often difficult to watch—the sheer cruelty of the Taliban leaders is particularly disturbing—but Osama is a movie that needs to be seen. Over the last few years, several Middle Eastern films have won international acclaim for depicting the repression of women under Islamic law. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi courted controversy with The Circle (2000), a heartfelt episodic drama that strongly critiques Iranian society. The Day I Became A Woman (2001) is a beautifully filmed exploration of women's lives during adolescence, adulthood, and old age. And like Osama, Kandahar (2001) depicts life under the Taliban. In this intense film, which was named 2001's best film by Time magazine, an Afghan journalist who fled the country for Canada returns to find her suicidal sister. Of course, not every Middle Eastern film paints such a grim portrait of women's lives; Panahi's The White Balloon (1995) is a charming urban fable about a little girl's attempts to buy a goldfish in a Teheran market. In one of the more glaring omissions from the list of Academy Award nominees, Osama was not nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film. Hopefully, this powerful film will find the audience it deserves.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Michael Rechtshaffen
    70
    Ends up being of greater historical significance than of any lasting artistic merit.
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  2. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    80
    Rarely has there been so obscenely precise a depiction of ravaged innocence. This young girl has nothing to live for--and an entire life ahead of her in which to live it.
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  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Deborah Young
    80
    Apart from its historical interest, this tragic tale of religious extremism and misogyny is a very good film able to catch audiences up emotionally.
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