Osama (2003)

A girl is forced to assume the identity of a boy in Taliban controlled Afghanistan. Women can not walk the streets without a male relative, but many male relatives have died in the many recent armed conflicts. Neither can they work, leaving women to literally starve.

Though there is a coherent story, the film is clearly meant to educate. We learn of some recent history. We learn what a Taliban-controlled area looks like. We even get inside looks at a Taliban school and the home of a mullah (Islamic academic and law expert) who has many wives. Most poignantly though, we learn why women are/were not happy in Afghanistan.

The girl is very alone and carries the weight of providing for her mother and grandmother who have complex feelings toward their daughter because of the extreme condition they have been forced into.

This joyless film affects its viewer and does not present a hopeful picture. The one exception to the desolation is the beautiful fabric that we see from time to time, hailing to a time when culture and joy were able to flourish.


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