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The
Kite Runner
Genre: Drama
Rated: PG-13
Directed
by: Marc Forster
Starring: Ahmad
Khan Mahmidzada, Atossa
Leoni, Khalid Abdalla, Ali
Dinesh, Homayon
Ershadi, Zekeria
Ebrahimi, Shaun Toub
Released by: DreamWorks/Paramount Vantage
In
Short: A beautifully shot, well-told
adaptation of the best-selling novel, Marc
Forster's film may be a bit slow-moving
at times, but ultimately is a satisfying
cinematic experience. |
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From
Meek to Manly
One
Afghan Man’s
Life Journey
by
Jenny Peters
Marc
Forster's film adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's
best-selling novel The Kite Runner is
a study in contrasts, much like the novel itself.
Beginning in San
Francisco in 2000, as a young
Afghani-American man's first novel is about
to be published, the story quickly shifts back
to his childhood in Afghanistan. Life for young
Amir is good there in the 1970s, for his father
is a wealthy man and he has a best friend (Hassan)
that worships him.
Together
(and along with many of the other boys who live
in Kabul), the two boys share an obsession with kite flying
and vie to win a citywide contest. But as they taste victory,
a terrible incident happens that rips apart their friendship
and brands Amir as a coward. Soon after, Russian communists
invade, causing Amir and his father to flee to America. As
an adult, Amir (well-played by Khalid Abdalla) is haunted
by that childhood incident, and as the film reaches its
climax, he returns to Afghanistan to confront the past,
finally going from meek to manly in the process.
"The
Kite Runner" is a beautifully told story, albeit somewhat
slowly paced. Much of the action takes place in Afghanistan
and Pakistan (but was actually shot in China as a stand-in
for those still-dangerous hotspots), which means that
those sections (and some sequences in America, too)
are subtitled, when the characters speak variations
of the Arabic language.
Forster's
film explores many universal human themes while telling
a very specific story of one Muslim man whose life
is irrevocably changed by childhood events. This movie
makes it clear that regardless of religion, nationality
or economic circumstance, it is often our earliest
experiences that color the rest of our lives. 
PNJ120507 |
(Updated
12/14/07 NJ) |
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