The Kite Runner

The multi-thematic movie makes bridges to important issues that are unknown to the Western world. Building a respect for those who need to come to the US.

I read both of Khaled Hosseini's books about Afghanistan, "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns", and I was really looking forward to seeing the movie version of the "The Kite Runner". It was actually a very good movie, and quite true to the events in the book. The child actors were quite good, and Homayoun Ershadi in the role of Baba (Amir's father) was excellent. He played a very complex role -- a man of honor with a secret, a father who does not fully understand how his son feels about him, and a refugee from his country who refuses to let hardship and fear compromise his beliefs.The movie is very beautifully shot, and the contrast between the Kabul of Amir's childhood and what it looks like after years of war is stunning.On the downside, I felt that the close relationship between the two young boys was never really established well enough in the film. I realize that this is probably due to time constraints -- there are always sacrifices a director must make when trying to tell the story while keeping a film a reasonable length. But the problem here is that Amir's betrayal of his friend ends up seeming somewhat less sigificant, and the impact this has Amir's life going forward is a very important part of the story.I also thought the director could have chosen to explore parts of the story that were told to Amir later in the book, like Hassan's life in Afghanistan after Amir left, in a more visual way. This was probably purposely omitted in the book, since it's told from Amir's perspective -- I'm convinced that the author wants us to feel the same "loss" of connection to that world that Amir experienced. However, I thought the movie might have satisfied this curiousity a bit more for the audience -- I saw this as a missed opportunity to provide a more rich texture within the film.I would certainly recommend this movie, but I have a much higher recommendation to anyone reading this review to actually pick up these great books, and really enjoy the rich storytelling. Overall, I think they will have a much more satisfying experience than watching this film adaptation. I know it's cliche, but while the movie is quite good in it's own right, I think it had trouble living up to the high expectations of readers.

The movie and the plot itself are great. I enjoyed watching this movie twice. However, the video quality is not what I expected for a Blu-Ray disc. I think it's more like DVD 1080P quality. Another thing that bothered me is the audio. Sometimes the voice would fade while the background music is still very loud which makes it hard to hear what the actor is saying.

A boy watches his best friend raped by bullies. The boy is too afraid to help his friend; then rejects his him because he can't handle what happened to him; and what it represents in that culture: Men that receive other men are considered gay, but not those who use them. This makes zero sense.The boy grows up to be a writer. The writer rejected his boyhood friend for being made a hazara against his will. The writer can't save his friend, so he writes a story about him; then tries to redeem himself by saving his friend's son; who has also been made into a hazara. The irony is that the powerless hazara boy saves the writer.The friend was a brother; the rescued hazara, an adopted son. This would not have been, were it not for the writer's father's sexual indiscretion with the maid - a submissive subordinate, even if non-violent.The taliban kill a woman accused of sexual impropriety, but keep and violate children sexually with impunity. The Russian soldier wants to violate an Afghan's wife. Another man intervenes and the Russian offers to shoot him instead. Rape and death have become equally easy to dole out. The bullies that turned the writer's brother into a hazara are equivalent to the taliban turning the writer's nephew into a hazara. This is about power, not passion or morality.This is a powerful, important, gut wrenching movie. But, because of its unpleasantness, it probably will be rejected for viewing by many.The writer's wife said: "Your story made me cry". That sums up a sad story with at least a good ending.Kites represent freedom and normality for children.

First off, I've not read the book. This review is only about the DVD. Visually stunning - like nothing I've seen before. The cast was excellent. I like foreign films, so subtitles are what I expected. To have this with English dialogue only would have affected the patina for me.It made me want to adopt a kid from that part of the world and "save" them. Iraq or Afganistan. Very troubling what we see for these kids under the taliban and shiria law.What was sad for me that, in the extras, where the production folks talk about the movie, the director and the writer speak to the work of NGO's in Afganistan and how they need support. That's true.BUT no mention and no credit to the United States military who HAVE stepped in and courageously cared enough to die for these people. The Soldiers and Marines and Sailors and Airmen that have given their lives to step up and intercede on these peoples behalf.One message central to the movie is those who stand against aggression and what's wrong and those that are victims and are brutalized. The fact that this movie couldn't even notice the 1000 lb elephant standing in the room ...The very thing this movie is preaching about has occured in Afganistan and in Iraq and the anti-violence, give-peace-a-chance crowd and let's all work together crowd are the very same that are the first and loudest to condemn the war in Afganistan and especially the war in Iraq.A very good movie that needs some context on what we're doing for the Afgan peoples right now and how much we have stepped in and are doing what is right. I highly recommend this movie.

This movie is great, but reading the book is even better. I would suggest it to anyone. I saw the movie twice and would still watch it again.

`The Kite Runner' is a moving film of two halves. The first half follows two boys (Amir and Hassan) who grew up in Kabul and the betrayal of one against the other, not because he is inherently bad but because he is cowardly and then ashamed of his fear. It then looks at what happens in the intervening years and concludes with how one manages to redeem himself and bring some peace to himself and his family. It is beautifully directed and the acting is very accomplished from all involved. Some scenes in modern Afghanistan are quite upsetting and at other times I found myself getting choked up at the events and emotions being portrayed on screen. This is needless to say a very rich and stirring film. Having not read the book I came to this with no preconceptions and I have to say it exceeded my expectations. It managed to keep me engrossed for the two hours running time and also made me emotionally engage with the story way more than I anticipated. This isn't a light and breezy film by any stretch of the imagination, but it is extremely well made and full of impact. Well worth a look at some point.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

A nice film to watch if you enjoyed the book, however, the detail regarding the relationships between the characters, and the complex feelings of guilt, shame and love are much more difficult to portray, so while the film does well, and the casting is good, do not expect the depth or power of the book. I enjoyed it and it was a good value buy.

Ever seen a film that wasn't a patch on the book? Well this is not one of them. Obviously some elisions have been introduced to fit filmgoers fidget buttons. For me they did not detract. The casting is inspired. The storytelling is faithful to the author's bared back poetry. And a n almost happy ending is not sugar coated to pander to a less discerning palate.

I enjoyed the book a lot and thoroughly recommend Hosseini`s follow up `A thousand splendid suns` Actually the film did great justice to the book. Although, admittedly, I read the book a couple of years ago so I may be alittle hazy, the film `reads` just as I remember the book and the characters and the settings and the pace of the plot remain fairly true to the original `script` Indeed,from memory, one small advantage the film has over the book is that, in the book, the `action` takes place (not wishing to spoil the plot for anyone here) 85% into the book and the last 10-15% is somewhat of an anti-climax. Readers of the book will understand what I mean. The film manages to reduce this interesting but rather flat ending to only 10 minutes or so and thus produces a more compact/ satisying feel to the film.Definitely worth seeing and I would certainly look forward to a film production of `a thousand splendid suns`.

I loved this film, I read the book and I read the authors other book too. The book obviously adds more weight to the story, puts a bit more meat on the bones. The film obviously has to condense the story down. If you see the film after the book, you might be a little disappointed due to chunks being missed out or not explained fully but the film was wonderfully performed with great acting from the young Amir to the adult and you are able to follow the film through the subtitles without any thought. I thought the actually kite running scene a bit too over dramatised for my liking. It was obviously CGI effects & to me was a distraction to the story. I watched the film after I read the book and much preferred the book, but appreciated the beauty of the film which was well made. The film was on BBC 2 at the beg of the year but I missed most of it hence I got the dvd & was well worth the effort.