Sometimes a film is worth watching even if George Bush and Colin Powell say it is.
Osama, which I saw Saturday, was made in post-Taliban Afghanistan about life under the Taliban– specifically about a young girl forced to disguise herself as a boy to help earn money for her desperate family. Her ruse is discovered, with heartbreaking results.
“This movie will sear your soul,” Powell said, and he’s right. He also said, “…in the end it will teach you why President Bush is right about waging the war on terrorists until there are no more of them.” This is more questionable. After all the worldwide struggle for freedom and democracy can’t be reduced simply to a “war on terrorists.” If the Taliban hadn’t been harboring Osama bin Laden, it’s likely their cruel regime, so chillingly evoked in the movie, would still be in power.
But never mind. One of the many reasons to rejoice about the ouster of the Taliban is that a film like this one— by an Afghan director with a cast of amazing nonprofessional actors– can be made. See it if you can.
