Osama (2003)

Directed by Siddiq Barmak. Starring Marina Golbahari, Zubaida Sahar, Arif Herati, Malik Akhalqi, Khwaja Nader, Hamida Refah. [PG-13]

Intimate and harrowing drama of innocence lost in the form of an Afghani girl (Golbahari) who cuts her hair and attempts to pass herself off as a boy in order to support her mother and grandmother under repressive Taliban rule. The improvisational approach and cast of untrained amateur actors find the film wavering at times between the stilted and the naturalistic, but the storytelling is to-the-quick and often compelling, and the viewer is apt to feel as powerless as the tragic protagonist. Although the low budget shows (particularly in the picture quality), the setting, production design elements, and atmosphere are never less than credible. The first film produced entirely in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban regime (and, since the Taliban had banned all film production when they were in power, it was the first to come out of the country in almost twenty years).

79/100