83
Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThe movie is a rare uncensored postcard from a ruined place, a document at once depressing and hideously beautiful that sketches the real hardships of trampled people -- specifically women -- with authority and compelling simplicity.
- 100Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittSuperb performances from a nonprofessional cast. It's gripping, timely, and revealing.
- 90The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensOsama's unvarnished vulnerability, along with the director's combination of tough-mindedness and lyricism, prevents the movie from becoming at all sentimental; instead, it is beautiful, thoughtful and almost unbearably sad.
- 80New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerRarely has there been so obscenely precise a depiction of ravaged innocence. This young girl has nothing to live for--and an entire life ahead of her in which to live it.
- 80VarietyDeborah YoungVarietyDeborah YoungApart from its historical interest, this tragic tale of religious extremism and misogyny is a very good film able to catch audiences up emotionally.
- 80The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsEffective as a drama as it spirals Golbahari deeper into her nightmarish world, Osama is similarly powerful as a fictionalized account of the Taliban's obscene wish for a world where the stringent enforcement of religious laws took the place of instinctual human kindness.
- 80Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonIts sluggish, amateur-Kiarostami character would be off-putting if the material weren't so powerful.
- 80Los Angeles TimesManohla DargisLos Angeles TimesManohla DargisRaw and wretchedly current, it is a story that packs a cruel emotional wallop.
- 80L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasAt the center...lies the stunning Golbahari, a nonprofessional who recalls some of Bresson's most haunting model-actors in her intense, anguished grace.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenEnds up being of greater historical significance than of any lasting artistic merit.