IMDb RATING
7.3/10
9.5K
YOUR RATING
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 gra... Read allAfter 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.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.
- Awards
- 15 wins & 13 nominations
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- Writer
- All cast & crew
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is the first film to be made in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. Previously all filming had been banned.
- GoofsThe first time Osama is encouraged to climb the tree, the amount of light on her face changes between shots. The close shot shows the right side of her face in shadow, while in the long shot from the top of the tree all of her face is in sunlight.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004)
Featured review
Filmmaker Barmak's "Osama" has its share of suspense drama - much is conveyed in a mere 1 hr. 22 mins.
The film felt like a documentary - it was simple and straightforward. "Osama" captured many aspects of what life is like during Taliban's occupation, through the eyes of a 12-year old Afghan girl, within 1 hr. 22 mins. - it's more than most Hollywood movies manage to get across in 2 hrs. For a debut feature, w-d Siddiq Barmak delivered a quietly poignant film - it may not be evident at first impression right after seeing the film with the sadness and injustice it burdensomely carries. As I was re-telling the film's plot to someone who missed the showing, it came to me how succinctly the film tells/exposes what the women and children, and men, had to tolerate under such atrocious regime. The poverty level and misfortunate situation/predicaments are almost unspeakable.
The portrayal of Osama by Marina Golbahari is impressive: the bewilderment and fear on her face, the rare break into a smile we get to catch, her wailing and cry and crying - mostly delivered in a speechless manner. The other child actor, Arif Herati, who played the one who tried to shield her from trouble by the other boys, gave a brief but convincing Espandi. There's also Osama's mother and grandmother, and the neighbors, and the men who were 'helpless' in spite of wanting to help - the roles and scenes are all touchingly stirring. There are suspenseful moments and one wonders what would happen next - outcome could be predictable yet its share of drama and humanity lessen not. As a relieving contrast, a coming of age boys lesson in a Turkish bath setting was included - suspense and intrigue a-mixed. Barmak gave us a well-paced film, missing not a chance to provide insight to the cultural aspects of the people.
"Osama" brings to mind other similar 'hard medicine' films: Iranian director Jafar Panahi's `The Circle' 2000 (aka "Dayareh"), is the empathetic telling of the mistreatment/misfortune of four women in an unsympathetic society; director Michael Winterbottom's docudrama `In this World' released through 2003 Sundance Series, gave us an unflinching look into 'human cargo smuggling' of an Afghan refugee, 16-year old Jamal, with the persistent slim hope of a better livelihood in Britain; Xavier Koller's `Journey of Hope," the 1991 Academy Award's Best Foreign Film, is a heartbreaking tale of enduring/diminishing hope.
On a different note possibly more hopeful, though family poverty, hardships of Afghan refugees and girl posing as boy to obtain work are still the ingredients, we have "Baran" 2001, another worthwhile filmic experience from Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi ("Children of Heaven" and "Color of Paradise".)
The portrayal of Osama by Marina Golbahari is impressive: the bewilderment and fear on her face, the rare break into a smile we get to catch, her wailing and cry and crying - mostly delivered in a speechless manner. The other child actor, Arif Herati, who played the one who tried to shield her from trouble by the other boys, gave a brief but convincing Espandi. There's also Osama's mother and grandmother, and the neighbors, and the men who were 'helpless' in spite of wanting to help - the roles and scenes are all touchingly stirring. There are suspenseful moments and one wonders what would happen next - outcome could be predictable yet its share of drama and humanity lessen not. As a relieving contrast, a coming of age boys lesson in a Turkish bath setting was included - suspense and intrigue a-mixed. Barmak gave us a well-paced film, missing not a chance to provide insight to the cultural aspects of the people.
"Osama" brings to mind other similar 'hard medicine' films: Iranian director Jafar Panahi's `The Circle' 2000 (aka "Dayareh"), is the empathetic telling of the mistreatment/misfortune of four women in an unsympathetic society; director Michael Winterbottom's docudrama `In this World' released through 2003 Sundance Series, gave us an unflinching look into 'human cargo smuggling' of an Afghan refugee, 16-year old Jamal, with the persistent slim hope of a better livelihood in Britain; Xavier Koller's `Journey of Hope," the 1991 Academy Award's Best Foreign Film, is a heartbreaking tale of enduring/diminishing hope.
On a different note possibly more hopeful, though family poverty, hardships of Afghan refugees and girl posing as boy to obtain work are still the ingredients, we have "Baran" 2001, another worthwhile filmic experience from Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi ("Children of Heaven" and "Color of Paradise".)
helpful•143
- ruby_fff
- Feb 29, 2004
- How long is Osama?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $46,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,270,904
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $51,969
- Feb 8, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $3,910,519
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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