...is an apt way to describe how i felt after viewing the independent film osama on international human rights day december 10th...osama is the first film made in afghanistan since the rise and fall of the taliban, and it shows that hope is a rare commodity there...the protagonists, a 12 year-old girl (marina olbahari) and her mother, lose their jobs at a local hospital when the taliban shuts it down..as the family's father and brother are dead and women are not allowed unescorted in the streets, they have little choice but to try and pass off the little girl as a boy and get her a job....
the young girl gets work in a tea shop, but merely walking through the streets to get to work and speaking to customers cause her deep anxiety...it gets worse when the taliban round up all the young boys -- including our heroine -- and shuttle them to a training center....a street thief knows her secret and tries to help her blend in, but her feminine looks soon betray her...
as i viewed the film i often had no more idea of what's going on than our hero does, which increases the film's sense of danger and fear...
osama is also unafraid to be brutal, showing matter-of-factly the strange and unkind justice that goes on in afghanistan...it can be shocking and difficult to take at times...remembering the terrified look on the young girl's face left me acknowledging deeply that we're all human...each and every one...
it's a must see...
peace out <3
p.s. special thanks to jeff anderson for sharing his words with me via the internet...
1 comment:
good picture
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