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The Kite Runner
Posted: Dec 20, 2007 in Movies
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"The Kite Runner" plumbs the heights and depths the human soul can reach. By turns uplifting and heartbreaking, the best-selling novel by Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini translates to the screen with gorgeous human sweep, a story rooted in international cultures but universal in its truths -- about friendship and fear, faith and betrayal.
Some will see political overtones in this film where there are none. True, it shows an Afghanistan raped by the Soviet invasion of 1979, and later pinned under the cruel, repressive thumb of the Taliban. But these are but background to a tale of friendship that spans a generation and thousands of miles.
Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) are the closest of friends, despite the fact that Hassan and his father are servants to Amir and his father, and Amir is part of the ruling Pashtun tribe while Hassan is subjected to intolerance because of his Hazara heritage.
Their greatest joy is partaking in the kite-flying duels in the skies over Kabul, where opponents attempt to encircle one another and cut their strings. Hassan is the runner, responsible for tracking down the defeated kites, which he does with uncanny accuracy.
But a horrible assault alters the landscape of the boys' relationship, and a terrible choice by Amir helps drive them apart. Soon the Soviets have invaded, and Amir and his outspoken father flee to America.
Years later, Amir (Khalid Abdalla takes over the adult role), now a successful writer, learns that his friend has died and must venture into his Taliban-controlled homeland in search of Hassan's orphaned son. Director Marc Forster ("Monster's Ball") again demonstrates his affinity with actors, eliciting performances of surprising depth from both children and adults. Making a particular impression is Homayon Ershadi as Amir's father, a stern widower who showers his boy with affection and with recrimination when he does not live up to the father's exacting moral code.
It's an Oscar-worthy portrayal, one that reminds us that Atticus Finch is not one man who lives in a single place, but an instinct against the forces of hatred. In showing us that battle between light and darkness, both across national borders and inside each of us, "The Kite Runner" is one of the year's best films.
Hm. I can't quite overcome the young boy being assaulted. I wish it would just be mentioned in the film, instead of acted out - I can't stand movie scenes where children are victimized. It just about kills the whole movie for me. Maybe I'll just read the book.
I read the book a couple of years ago, so I knew what to expect. Before I ever even sat down in the theater I had mentally prepared myself for that "scene". I, too, hate seeing (even hearing about) children victimized. It was a difficult scene. It made me feel sick to my stomach. But, even so, it wasn't AS bad as the written scene nor was it AS bad as I'd expected it to be.
As much as I hate that it happened, I really don't think they could have only mentioned it without taking away from the movie...the story. I could be wrong, but I hope I'm not; if only to justify that scene.
Hm. I can't quite overcome the young boy being assaulted. I wish it would just ...
The first rule of good storytelling (in any medium) is "Don't tell, show." Harsh depictions of violence may be difficult to watch, and may even keep some people away, but you'll never get the visceral reaction without showing it.
It's like the difference between writing, "Maria Gomez was emotionally devastated when her boyfriend left her" and painstakingly showing her falling down a rabbit hole of despair. The first method merely informs you, while the latter moves you.
I'll say this in way of reassurance: the rape scene in "Kite Runner" is handled very obliquely and tastefully. And as Dawn notes, you really can't have the movie without it.
Seriously, best film of 2007. Go. See. It. Now.
I think people get confused between sensationalism in victimizing children in movies and when it's done with taste and for a purpose. As a consequence, they often have blanket objections to it. I've been one in the recent past to criticize movies for violence against children (in "The Mist" and just this week in "Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem."). My objections, though, weren't merely that children were victimized, it's that it either didn't fit the tone of the story or was done for sensationalism.
In "The Kite Runner," the rape scene is handled tastefully and is a very important aspect to the story. Obviously children are victimized in real life, and as a society it's important to understand what happens to a child who is victimized (or in the case of this film, how other cultures react to the victimization). If it's the story, or is important to the story, I see nothing wrong with it being in there.
Having said that, I'd like to echo Chris in stating that in this film it's all done with all the taste and grace you'd want and expect if it were the true story of your own child's victimization being shown onscreen. Great care is taken in not exploiting the situation or the actors involved and it's almost understated compared to how some films have handled similar situations.