Osama

Osama -- Don't let the title mislead, this is not about the infamous terrorist - at least, not directly. This is the story of a young woman, her mother, and grandmother trying to eke out a meager existence in the shadow of the Taliban. Again, it's a peek into a world few of us can even imagine.

Surprisingly, this movie has extremely high production values given the director and actor's lack of 'experience.' If the scenery wasn't so bleak, then we would call it beautiful, but instead it's a very stark, dusty, bland world in which the characters find themselves. The story drags a bit at parts, but that was the only noticeable weakness.

The story opens as the Taliban responds violently to a protest march by widows demanding to be allowed to work, after all there are no widow's pensions. With no men in the family, the mother decides to cut her daughter's hair and find her some work to support the family. The movie approaches it's climax when the Taliban rounds up the community's young men to begin 'teaching' them how to be good Islamic citizens. The daughter cannot pass for a boy forever...

This should be at the top of every American's must see list given what our government is doing in the bigger world. It offers no commentary on US policy but it does provide insight into what is at stake, especially for women at the hands of the Islamic fundamentalists. Don't let the sub-titles scare you off either since the movie relies much less on dialogue to tell the story than the actions of the characters.

I look forward to director Siddiq Barmak's next film.

Rating: 8 out of 10 Buy from Amazon.com