Osama (2004)
88%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: NA
Osama is bitterly honest, deeply disturbing, and utterly worth watching
Wow, Osama is a movie that will leave you feeling all sorts of emotions. It’s a heartbreaking look at life under the Taliban regime, but it’s also a beautifully crafted film that manages to surprise you with its story. The film has an almost documentary feel about it, and the succession of virtually unrelieved horrors and humiliations will leave you feeling like you’ve been through the wringer. But great films like Osama give us the ability to withhold blanket judgments and come that much closer to the truth. So, if you’re in the mood for a grueling but wonderful picture, give Osama a watch.
Production Company(ies)
Screen Gems Jerry Bruckheimer Films, L Star Capital
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
TV-14
Year of Release
2004
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 22m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 6, 2004 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 27, 2004
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Osama, PG-13, Drama, Pashto, Siddiq Barmark, Zubaida Sahar, Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Khwaja Nader, Hamida Refah, Gul Rahman Ghorbandi, Julie LeBrocquy, Julia Fraser, reviewed by Anthony Quinn, Peter Travers, Peter Rainer, Jay Boyar, Marc Savlov, Robert Denerstein, David Walsh, Jay Antani, Felix Vasquez Jr., Stefan Ulstein, Robert Roten, Nick Davis, box office gross $1.1M, budget unknown, produced by Siddiq Barmark, MPAA rating PG-13, Taliban, hospital, mother, daughter, disguise, conscription, training school, mature thematic elements
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Arif Herati – Espandi
Zubaida Sahar – Mother
Khwaja Nader – Jadi
Hamida Refah – Rohmi
Gul Rahman Ghorbandi – Moazin
Director(s)
Siddiq Barmark
Writer(s)
Siddiq Barmark
Producer(s)
Siddiq Barmark, Julie LeBrocquy, Julia Fraser
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (103) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (99) | Rotten (4)
Like Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s garlanded Kandahar, Siddiq Barmak’s Osama springs up colourful and frightening.
December 20, 2017
Anthony Quinn
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
August 14, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
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.
August 7, 2004
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine/Vulture
TOP CRITIC
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.
April 23, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Painfully realistic.
April 11, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Barmak proves an able craftsman. If the film’s story stammers here and there, its overall power can’t be denied.
March 12, 2004 | Rating: B+
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
TOP CRITIC
The film is a succession of virtually unrelieved horrors and humiliations, each of them individually quite convincing.
February 16, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
A wonderful and riveting movie experience
August 24, 2010 | Rating: 3.5/4
Jay Antani
Cinema Writer
A grueling but wonderful picture.
April 29, 2009
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
Great films like Osama, thoughtfully considered, give us the ability to withhold blanket judgments and come that much closer to the truth.
September 27, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/4
Stefan Ulstein
Christianity Today
The film has an almost documentary feel about it.
February 5, 2005 | Rating: B
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
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.
July 1, 2004 | Rating: A-
Nick Davis
Nick’s Flick Picks…
Plot
A mother and daughter in Afghanistan disguise the daughter as a boy named “Osama” in order to survive under Taliban rule, but their plan is threatened when the Taliban begins conscripting boys for their training school.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film Osama.
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