When two airplanes hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the world began to notice Afghanistan. Most people knew it was a small nation ruled by the repressive Taliban, but they did not know the extent of the persecution the regime inflicted upon the country’s citizens.

“Osama” — writer-director Siddiq Barmak’s debut — takes the viewer on an all-access tour of life under the Taliban. As the first movie to come out of Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, it presents a shocking portrayal of the daily horrors that the Afghan people endured.

The film is largely based on the true story of a 12-year-old girl, her mother and her grandmother. The mother’s husband and brother have died, and the Taliban has closed the hospital where she and her daughter work. They now have no job.

Under the Taliban’s laws, women must completely cover themselves when in public and cannot go out unless they are accompanied by a male. With no money, no escort and no food, the grandmother decides that the family must cut the girl’s hair and dress her like a boy. The girl is now able to walk with her mother in public and even get a job. However, she is terrified that others will discover her true identity.

One day at work, a man forces the girl to come with him. She finds herself with all the other boys as the Taliban teaches typical male behavior. Not surprisingly, the other boys start noticing that this new student, who now goes by the name Osama, doesn’t look or behave like a typical boy.

The film succeeds in creating an atmosphere of terror and hopelessness. Whenever the Taliban is coming, it appears that death and sorrow are imminent. Everyone runs away screaming, hoping to avoid the Taliban’s gunfire. Under such conditions, the citizens cannot even acquire an education or enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Perhaps the film’s greatest strength is how it shows not just how terrible life under the Taliban is for everyone, but how much worse it is for women, who wander around dressed in veils that conceal all of their skin, looking vaguely like the Ku Klux Klan. But unlike the KKK, they are the oppressed, not the oppressors. They have virtually no rights and are completely dependent on males.

The cast — who are all non-professional actors chosen from schools, orphanages, street children centers and refugee camps — portray their characters with a degree of accuracy that seems too realistic to be assumed. There isn’t much variation in their performances, but this is a testament to the rigidity of life under the Taliban.

Barmak also shows us the underwhelming Afghanistan landscape. Amidst the dirt and mud we see a primitive Third World country that seems to care more about guns than people. In a land completely devoid of money and technology, this film doesn’t seem to be set in present day.

There are, however, a few minor problems with the movie. First, in an attempt to show Osama’s terror, her character is silenced. It would have been very interesting if Osama had more scenes that revealed her true feelings. Currently, she comes off as a puppet whose mother and grandmother are pulling the strings.

In addition, too much of the movie relies upon the severity of the situation to convey important messages. This film is definitely not a Hollywood movie, despite the use of an awkwardly inserted, way-too-coincidental plot device and characters who don’t seem to do or say enough. However, it is hard to imagine artificial drama or voiceovers superimposed over the real danger.

Despite these flaws, this movie seems designed principally to showcase an agenda. The Taliban may no longer be in power, but its harsh rule and despotism deeply affected the people of Afghanistan. Moreover, it is important for Americans to empathize with life there in the wake of the Taliban’s dominance.

Regardless of one’s political orientation or opinion on the Afghanistan war, the movie successfully conveys the trouble facing the battle-scarred country. While Afghanistan still has a long road of rebuilding ahead, “Osama’s” audience can be assured that life in there is much improved without the Taliban.

‘Osama’: A-

Weinberg junior Ben Rosen is a writer for PLAY. He can be reached at [email protected].