Critic Reviews
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Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
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.
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Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
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.
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Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
[A] powerful film.
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Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Barmak proves an able craftsman. If the film's story stammers here and there, its overall power can't be denied.
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Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
Barmak and his little star bring artistry and truth to the plight of women under the Taliban.
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Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle
A harrowing look at a disturbingly recent time that seems more rooted in a barbaric, distant past.
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Jay Antani, Cinema Writer
A wonderful and riveting movie experience
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Stefan Ulstein, Christianity Today
Great films like Osama, thoughtfully considered, give us the ability to withhold blanket judgments and come that much closer to the truth.
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Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
The film has an almost documentary feel about it.
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Sarah Chauncey, Reel.com
Just the fact that Osama was made is a miracle. That it received worldwide distribution is something for which everyone... should be grateful.
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Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks
Osama manages to surprise you with its story, even though we have no right to be surprised....Already ranks among the best films of the year.
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Forrest Hartman, Reno Gazette-Journal
A film that is not only moving but valuable as a historical and social instrument.
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Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
No histrionics or emotional manipulations here. Its view of the Taliban is frightening precisely because it is real; dramatic exaggerations are unnecessary.
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John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Gives real insight into a part of the world that likely will dominate our newscasts and newspapers for years to come...
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Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
Barmak details the Taliban's picayune restrictions, which would be comic if they weren't enforced with such brutality.
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Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
It offers valuable insights into a foreign culture that few of us have more than a cursory knowledge about.
Read all 16 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Holy cow this is not a film to watch if you want a feel-good movie! The horrible life that these women (young and old) had to endure in this country boggles the mind. It's an amazing insight on a whole entire different culture that needs to never ever flourish. Very well done… More
Holy cow this is not a film to watch if you want a feel-good movie! The horrible life that these women (young and old) had to endure in this country boggles the mind. It's an amazing insight on a whole entire different culture that needs to never ever flourish. Very well done film. Very depressing though.
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The first Afghan film since the fall of the Taliban, Osama is a harrowing story set during a dreadful regime that seems to have existed a long time ago, only it's been just a few years since it came to an end. A disturbing, moving piece of work that has the importance of a… More
The first Afghan film since the fall of the Taliban, Osama is a harrowing story set during a dreadful regime that seems to have existed a long time ago, only it's been just a few years since it came to an end. A disturbing, moving piece of work that has the importance of a historical documentary.
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A miserable look at a girl named Osama living in the Taliban as a boy; what a crappy existence, but a well-made film.
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Succeeds where Kandahar doesn't in depicting the plight of women in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban.
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I can't stop raving about this movie to everyone. It is so powerful and so beautifully executed that I can't stop thinking about it ever since I saw it.
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Good movie, but I didn't like the way it ended. But that doesn't take away the great acting performance of Arif Herati. Her character Golbahari is told by her mother and grandmother to disguise herself as a boy so she can get a job and bring home the bacon. But in the… More
Good movie, but I didn't like the way it ended. But that doesn't take away the great acting performance of Arif Herati. Her character Golbahari is told by her mother and grandmother to disguise herself as a boy so she can get a job and bring home the bacon. But in the process...she's recruited by the Taliban. Does her secret and disguise work? You'll have to watch to find out.
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There was no need to give an account of the plot of the film, the simplicity of the brutality that was brought upon the Afghan people by the Taliban did not need many words to convince anyone.
Writer/director Siddiq Barmak had put non-professional actors to bring the tale to life. All… More
There was no need to give an account of the plot of the film, the simplicity of the brutality that was brought upon the Afghan people by the Taliban did not need many words to convince anyone.
Writer/director Siddiq Barmak had put non-professional actors to bring the tale to life. All of them did a remarkable job, especially young Marina Golbahari, who captured the terror of her character with such precision.
This film was a warning that there must be no more regimes such as the Taliban in Afghanistan. I hope this film will wake up people around the world to demand that women should have equal rights just as man, and to dress however they pleased no matter what country they live in. That's my opinion.
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A must-see not for the real background but as Ophuls once said,"happiness is never happy"....contradicting?A shocking statement for the western community to open those blind eyes.
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The first time I've seen this, I cried. It's an interesting film!
Read all 9 featured audience ratings
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