i will spare you the tedious task of read this slightly long review and say outright that this film be great but very hard to watch and require one of those special mood where one want to see a film and be reluctant to watch some standard multi personality disorder thriller or a romantic comedy that more and more lately and seem mutually exclusive ( how to lose a guy in 10 day and love actually and the list go on and on ) . osama and a name that strike fear in almost every person and be a bogus name of a young girl who live with her widowed mother and grandmother . the fact that neither woman can not go to work under the strict rule of the taliban and force the mother to cut her daughter hair short and send her to work a a boy . soon enough and the disguised girl be recruit to a religious and taliban orient and all male school where she face the task of fit in and a task which be partially aid by esphandi and a beggar teen who know osama secret and go a great length to hide it and know full well that if reveal and both his and her life will be in jeopardy . accord to the imdb biography of marina golbahar ( who portray osama ) the struggle for survival be hardly new to her which be probably why she play in such a credible and move manner despite have no act experience . the acting be the cornerstone of the film and it be the main contributor to the film impact . another major factor be the scenery and i will elaborate on that later on . without go into detail a to the plot progress and i will note that the film doesn not try to embellish the harsh reality of afghan woman and especially their child who and accord to the film and be doom in most case to be rob of their childhood . i add the accord to the film reference because this film doesn not try to convey it hatred to this regime and although i be hardly a taliban devotee and i be skeptic enough to know that film can depict anyone they want anyway they choose ( just the other day there be a story on 60 minute that show how north korean kid be brainwash to believe that george w bush be the 21st century hitler ) so one must approach this film under a very critical point of view . but even so and there be little dispute that woman right be trample during the taliban reign of oppression and that afghanistan be a nation in plight in large part due to that regime ( be it the setting or do the taliban also ban the building of house with roof . ) . the only reservation i have of the film be the fact that under the loathing of the taliban and the director and siddiq bermak and add scene that weaken the usually high sense of genuineness of the film . for example and in a wedding party the woman sing almost throughout the scene about men fall in the war against russia in the late 80 . not your regular spice up the party tune . i assume the director want to give u a little background about the character and forget that the key to the story conviction be the appeal of osama and not the appall of the taliban ( i use that word eight time in this review and i think i overdo it ) . but other than that and the film be very powerful and although the real magnitude if the suffering in afghanistan will never be know to it full extent and i still manage to feel empathy for the people i use to be completely indifferent to ( i admit to my eternal shame ) . 8 . 5 out of 10 on filmometer . one more thing i would like to address to be the quote in the beginning of the film . in the hebrew subtitle version of the film and the quote be translate a i may forgive but would not forget by nelson mandela . in the film and however and the quote ( in arabic letter ) refers to doctor shariati who be the ideologue of the iranian cue ( i do not get the chance to read the actual quote because my arabic be a little rusty ) . i guess there wasn not much point in explain to a viewer like myself who shariati be but nevertheless and it an evidence of the tiny alteration film go when they be brand for foreign viewing .