Osama: Critic Reviews

A rare uncensored postcard from a ruined place, a document at once depressing and hideously beautiful that sketches the real hardships of trampled people -- specifically women -- with authority and compelling simplicity.

Siddiq Barmak's film is the first feature made in Afghanistan since before the rise of the Taliban an impressive achievement made more so by the director's sure and subtle artistry.

A smooth mix of humanism and keen filmmaking instincts.

A bleak, all too realistic drama.

Although it's a drama, Osama feels like urgent documentary.

Works simply as the story of one unlucky young girl.

Preaches to a very large choir, but does it with sober righteousness.

A harrowing look at a disturbingly recent time that seems more rooted in a barbaric, distant past.

A poignant film with stinging images.

Barmak and his little star bring artistry and truth to the plight of women under the Taliban.

The first film shot entirely in Afghanistan since the rise and fall of the Taliban, and it's a heartbreaking look back at life under that regime.

Imagine if we could see films from previous centuries -- records of slavery, the Great Fire of London, the Black Plague. Osama is like a film from some long-ago age.

Derives most of its power from providing a clear window on a previously obscured world.

Heartbreaking stuff.

Shot on the ruined streets of Kabul, it has the urgent impact of a documentary, but it is a work of poetic vision.

The best and worst thing about this film is it seems completely true. And no amount of water can wash away the sins portrayed.

A must-see for anyone with an interest in the rest of the world.

I found Mr. Barmak's direction too by-the-numbers, and Ms. Goldbahari's Osama a one-note performance in her relentlessly whimpering (though perfectly understandable) self-pity.

That it is such a powerful and indeed beautiful film is simply extraordinary.

We've heard so much about the cruelty of the Taliban that we think we've heard it all. But there's something about seeing one small human story played out that is still overwhelming.

Without piling on unnecessary pathos, and with a devotion to simply telling the truth of a situation, Osama works a rough kind of magic.

The film, a simple tale of a girl who disguises herself as a boy, begins with a Nelson Mandela quote: 'I can't forget but I can forgive,' is designed to ensure the audience won't forget either.

What you see isn't surprising, but living through it -- experiencing the cruel and arbitrary justice of the Taliban through a 12-year-old's eyes -- puts a knot in your stomach that lasts beyond the film's closing credits.

In most ways that count, it's as true as any documentary.