Cinema World Tour, Film #10
Country: Afghanistan
Watched in: Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India
Rating: 7/10
What a depressing film.
During my travels, I visited a region in Northern Pakistan at the border to Afghanistan, called Swat Valley. From 2009 to 2015, the Taliban were still in control in that region, and I visited it 4 years later, in 2019. The region is very rural, the culture quite similar to Afghanistan a few kilometers away. It did indeed look a bit like in the film Osama, and obviously, I didn't meet one single women. During my time there, I talked with some people about the influence of Taliban, to hear what was their opinion. Many of the men told me that of course, the Taliban commited crimes, but overall, the poeple of the Swat Valley were happy when they came. Before, it was a lawless region. Super rich landlords own most of the land in Pakistan and Afghanistan and take from the people, who actually live on their lands, whatever they want. Furthermore, they forbid the children to go to school. No rules, often chaos, but that changed when the Taliban came. Nowadays, the Swat Valley is in control of the government and tourism is developping in the ancient war region.
Despite the fact the Taliban are a horrible phenomena, I can understand why the men of Northern Pakistan felt lucky to have a system which is a bit more just than the old one. The MEN. The thing is, nobody talked about women there, and I didn't see one single woman, not in the streets, not in the homes in which I was invited.
Osama is an extremely uncomfortable watch, but a necessary one. Women under the Taliban is a topic you don't hear about much, and there is nobody to ask. Of course, the men wouldn't agree that a humanitarian crisis is going on just in their kitchen. That's why a film like Osama is important- just to raise awareness. And it's even better that this is a film from Afghanistan itself, not a film made by a western director for a western audience. Osama is a very simple film, no outstanding script or visuals, not a masterpiece. I don't know if this is a film I would recommend, but I am glad I've watched it. If you're already thinking about (and interested in) watching it, or if you just search for an Afghani film, then you should definitely go for it. Important stuff.
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