Osama

Kabul, under Taliban rule. Women may not work or go into the street without a man beside them. A hospital closes and the women who worked there are out of work. There are three generations of women in one house and none of them has a male relative; there is nobody to earn and hunger begins. The mother thinks of a remedy: she cuts her twelve year old daughter's hair, dresses her in boys' clothes and places her as an apprentice at a shop. The girl is now a boy. Then all the boys are called to a religious school and she has to go too. Siddiq Barmak writes and directs. Marina Golbahari plays the lead. It was made in co-production between Afghanistan, Japan, Ireland and Iran. It is cited as the first feature shot in Afghanistan after the Taliban government. Marina Golbahari was not a professional actor; the director found her begging in the streets of Kabul. It won the Golden Globe for best foreign language film. The tension it builds is about exposure; the girl's identity coming out is a matter of moments and the film keeps reminding us. The narrative offers no deliverance; the ending gives the exact opposite of the expected resolution. Its budget was very small and most of the cast were not actors. Who it is for: viewers who like drama on political ground and Iranian and Afghan cinema. Who it is not for: the subject is heavy, the ending without hope, and some scenes hard to bear.