Osama (12A)

Director: Siddiq Barmak. Starring: Marina Golbahari, Khwaja Nader, Arif Herati. Afghanistan/Japan/Ireland, 2003, 1 hour 22 minutes, subtitles

This first feature from post-Taliban Afghanistan is a meticulously crafted, direct, and authentic portrait of life for ordinary Afghanis, particularly women. With the Taliban in power a widow reluctantly disguises her daughter as a boy so that at least one member of the family can earn a living. But the 'boy' is soon rounded up with all the other boys her age and sent of to Koranic school. An emotionally-charged, tragic parable with fine camerawork that makes great use of a non-professional cast, this is a searing experience that attempts to express the enormity of the impact of recent history.

Winner Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film 2004

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