Osama

Imdb synopsis: A 12-year-old Afghan girl and her mother lose their jobs when the Taliban closes the hospital where they work.  Now called 'Osama,' the girl embarks on a terrifying and confusing journey as she tries to keep the Taliban from finding out her true identity.

Another foreign movie because we're almost done with our pile of "to-sell" movies- those we're fairly sure we won't keep, but heck, we have the movie so may as well watch it. That's the great thing about Mr. E- every movie is watchable, every movie is studying and researching. Even chick flicks. 

This movie wasn't poorly done, and the acting wasn't bad, but there was just something about it that didn't mesh well. Maybe it was culture shock or maybe it was the disconnect between our situations, but I didn't feel bad for the main character. Not for want of trying, though. I had a hard time understanding her situation because of how whiny her character was: all crying and nasally complaints.

There's definitely something to be said about the message the director was trying to tell, sort of Les Miserables-esque in the way that society creates these sort of desperate situations in which people get caught. But upon reading Imdb, one of the trivia notes about the movie is that it ended with a happier outcome but once the director saw the movie he changed the ending and edited out all of the scenes that gave hope to the main character. I don't need all of my movies to end nicely or even for everyone to end up alive, but this movie was sort of a strong beginner that slowly meandered and lost its way until it keeled over and died. 

If you're looking for a strong Middle Eastern movie, I recommend The Stoning of Soroya M- with Shohreh Aghdashloo.