Film Review: Kite Runner

Director: Marc Forster

A 2007 film based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Khaled Hosseini which has already been successfully adapted into a play. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet military intervention, the mass exodus of Afghan refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the Taliban regime. There were some safety concerns over the young actors used in the first act of the movie over the sexual nature of one of the scenes.

Amir and Hassan

The film is told in flashback to the childhood of Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) who is the son of a wealthy man who is referred to as Baba (Homayoun Ershadi). Amir's best friend is Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) who is the son of their servant, he occasionally reads books to Hassan who is illiterate. Kite fighting is popular among young boys and Amir is especially talented so he has Hassan work as the kite runner picking up the fallen kites that he has won. But a course of events between Amir and Hassan as well as the invasion of the Soviet Union changes their lives forever.

The cinematography in the movie is excellent as we see the hustle and bustle of the streets of Kabul in the early part which soon makes away for devastation and destruction following war and Taliban rule. It portrays the Afghans as regular people just wanting to get on with their lives and this is so often missed in other films and especially news reports. Afghanistan comes across as an extreme beautiful yet poor country and its bleak history in recent years is really a tragedy. The fact that the first act is subtitled lends to the authenticity of the movie, I don't think I could have taken it seriously if everyone spoke English in downtown Kabul.

Amir as an adult with his wife Soraya

There quite a few disturbing scenes which certainly in the first act I didn't feel were entirely necessary. The stoning of a women for adultery at the half time interval of a Football game was a scene that was truly haunting and will stay with me for a while. The acting is good throughout, the child actors do a good job of producing a genuine friendship between them whilst Khalid Abdalla as the adult Amir was a stand out performer for his kindness and caring nature. The draw Amir feels after exiling from his homeland that he doesn't recognise anymore means he feels he has to make amends for his past with a search and rescue operation. Its a touching drama with a slightly underwhelming ending but the overall story is about the struggle in Afghanistan more than the characters in the story.

3/4 Touching drama more about the struggles of Afghanistan than the characters themselves