Osama (Persian: أسامة) is a 2003 film made in Afghanistan by Siddiq Barmak. It is about a girl living in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime who disguises herself as a boy, Osama, to support her family. It was the first film to be shot entirely in Afghanistan since 1996, when the Taliban régime banned the creation of all films. The film was an international co-production between companies in Afghanistan, the Netherlands, Japan, Ireland and Iran.
Although the title of the film highlights an allegorical relevance to Osama bin Laden, there is no further similarity.
Plot
The Taliban are ruling Afghanistan, they being a repressive regime especially for women, who, among other things, are not allowed to work. This situation gets especially difficult for one family consisting solely of three women representing three successive generations, the grandmother and mother of Osama and Osama herself. With her husband and uncle dead, having been killed in battle during the Soviet invasion and their civil wars, there are no men left to support the family. The mother had been working as a nurse in a hospital, but regardless of her not being allowed to work, the Taliban has cut off funding to the hospital and completely made the hospital dysfunctional having no medicines and very few equipment. One foreign woman who worked as a nurse in the hospital was arrested by the Taliban. The mother however did some nursing outside the hospital and received payment from the caretaker of a patient. After that nursing is complete, and her mother cannot find any more work, the mother and grandmother make what they feel is the only decision they can to survive: they will have the preteen daughter disguise as a boy so that she can get a job to support the family. Osama’s grandmother used to tell stories to Osama while she used to go to sleep that a boy changed to a girl when he went under a rainbow. This story was solely intended to persuade her to disguise herself as a boy. The daughter, feeling powerless, agrees despite being scared as if the Taliban discover her masquerade, she is certain they will kill her. Partly as a symbolic measure, the daughter plants a lock of her now cut hair in a pot so that her lost femininity can flourish. The only people outside the family who know of the ruse are the milk vendor who employs the daughter - he who was a friend of her deceased father - and a local boy named Espandi who recognizes her despite her outward change in appearance. Espandi is the one who renames her Osama. The masquerade becomes more difficult when the Taliban recruit all the local boys to school, which includes military training. At the training school, they are taught how to fight and conduct ablutions, and an ablution is taught to boys that should be done when boys experience nocturnal emission or coming in contact in their wife when they grow older. Osama denied joining the ablution session and the master had suspicion about Osama’s gender. Osama realizes it can only be so long before she is found out. Several of the boys begin to pick on her, but her Espandi always used to protect her. But eventually her secret is discovered when she menstruates. She is arrested and put on trial but, as this case is without precedent, and Osama being a destitute and helpless, her life is spared when she is given in marriage to a much older man who delivered a videotape filmed by a Western journalist who is also being tried. The Western journalist is shot to death accusing him of being an enemy to the land and sending strategic information to westerners whom the Taliban consider to be their enemies. The foreign woman who was arrested from the hospital while serving there as a nurse, was stoned to death as she was accused of spreading infidelity in the land. The husband of Osama already has three wives, all of whom hate him and say that he destroyed their lives, takes Osama to his home. All the three wives take pity on Osama, but they are powerless to help her. The husband shows Osama the padlocks he uses on his wives and reserves the largest for her. The film ends with the new husband conducting an ablution in an outdoor bath, which was once taught to the boys to conduct after coming in contact with their wives.
Cast
- Marina Golbahari - Osama
- Arif Herati - Espandi
- Zubaida Sahar - Mom
- Gol Rahman Ghorbandi
- Mohamad Haref Harat
- Mohamad Nader Khadjeh
- Khwaja Nader
- Hamida Refah
Production
The director has said that Osama was at least partially inspired by a girl he once met, who disguised herself as a boy to attend school.Template:Interview with Director included on DVD It has also been said that this film might have been at least partially inspired by a newspaper report in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.[citation needed]
The film was shot on location in Kabul, Afghanistan. Work began in June 2002 and was completed in March 2003 with a budget of approximately $46,000 US$. All the actors in the film are amateurs found by the director on the streets of Kabul.
According to Marina, a documentary about actress Marina Golbahari shot concurrently with the film. Osama' was originally titled Rainbow and ended on a hopeful note, with Osama passing under a rainbow and gaining her freedom. As time went on, the director grew dissatisfied with the ending and changed it and cut out other scenes in the film that expressed hope.
Responses
Osama was very well-received by the Western cinematic world. It gathered a rating of 96% based on 100 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, a website which tabulates the reviews from professional film critics into a single rating.[1]
Awards and nominations
Bratislava International Film Festival (2003)
- Awarded "Special Mention"
- Nominated "Grand Prix for F1"
Cannes Film Festival (2003)
- Awarded "AFCAE Award"
- Awarded "Cannes Junior Award"
- Awarded "Golden Camera - Special Mention"
Cinemanila International Film Festival (2004)
- Awarded "Best Actress" - Marina Golbahari, tied with Katherine Luna for Babae sa Breakwater
- Nominated "Lino Brocka Award"
Golden Globes, USA (2004)
- Awarded "Golden Globe Best Foreign Language Film" - Afghanistan
Golden Satellite Awards (2004)
- Nominated "Golden Satellite Award Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language" - Afghanistan/Iran
Golden Trailer Awards (2004)
- Won "Golden Trailer Best Foreign"
Kerala International Film Festival (2003)
London Film Festival (2004)
Molodist International Film Festival (2003)
- Won "Best Film Award Best Full-Length Fiction Film"
- Won "Best Young Actor Award" - Marina Golbahari
Busan International Film Festival (2003)
- Won "New Currents Award" - Special Mention
- Won "PSB Audience Award", tied with Seontaek
Valladolid International Film Festival (2003)
Young Artist Awards (2004)
- Nominated "Young Artist Award Best International Feature Film"
See also
References
External links
