Review of Osama (2004) by Josh F — 19 Mar 2005

Tonight I watched both Osama and Halloween: H2O. I'll start with Osama first.

Osama is a foreign film from Afganistan. It's about a mother and her 12 year old daughter, living in Afganistan under Taliban rule and on the verge of starvation. Since women cannot work, the mother dresses her daughter up like a boy and cuts her hair off. She then makes her work for food. If the girl is found discuising herself as a boy, she will be killed. Suddenly, all of the boys in the village are taken into Taliban soldier training school, which makes the girl's situation even more life threatening.

This is a very interesting movie. If you want to know what life is like in Afganistan, then this is the film to watch. It really makes you appreciate being an American. The film kind of shys away from violence, but the film still has some pretty shocking scenes. The cinematography is very good here as well. There were some shots taken in the film that were very memorable. The performances seemed well, especially from the girl. This movie really gives you an inside view of life in this country, while also telling a story. The only complaints I had was that I felt the film would have been more effective if it showed a bit more of the violence, rather than turning the camera away. I also found the ending to be very odd, but still effective. There is no real conclusion to the story, just depression mainly. It's a very interesting movie though, I really recommend it.

8/10.

As for Halloween: H2O, its a pretty fun horror flick. Though it has corny acting by Jamie Lee Curtis with some laughable moments and dialog. The movie had a big camp feel to it, which I always like. The constant images of Michael Myers in windows and such when he isn't really there, got pretty annoying. They used that scare effect way too much, and it wasn't scary to begin with. It does have some cool moments, and the ending is pretty sweet. I still have no clue how they could make ANOTHER film after this (which I haven't seen) but they always find a way. H2O is fun, but nothing to write home about.

6/10.