Childhood Friends
Amir and Hassan were close friends as boys. The problem is, they were from very different people groups. Amir was from a wealthy family, while Hassan was a minority and the son of of a servant. Hassan acts as a “kite runner” (hence the name of the film) to Amir. Think of a kite runner like a ball boy in tennis, when two people battle kites, the runner goes and retrieves the kite that was cut from it’s string as a trophy for the person flying their kite.
One day Amir was in a local tournament, and Hassan went to fetch a kite for him… and things went horribly wrong. An older Nazi sympathizer, who detests Hassan because of his heritage, assaults and rapes Hassan. Amir witnesses the assault, but says nothing.
Feeling shame for his inaction, and jealousy at the prospect that his father loves Hassan more, Amir frames Hassan as a theif. Hassan falsely confesses, and soon he and his father leave. Amir is temporarily freed of the shame that he felt for being both a coward and a liar.
Fast Forward to Today
After political termoil, Amir ends up in America. Things are much different now, having once lived in a palace they now live in a dingey little apartment. Amir graduates college in California, and becomes a novelist. One can not run from their past, and while it takes nearly 15 years, one day Amir gets a phonecall.
Amir learns about what happened to his friend Hassan, and is given a chance to reconcile the past. This is where my review will let off, because no good review gives away the ending! I will offer some commentary on this film though.
First off, it’s pretty refreshing to see a story like this. The characters were likable, the cinematography beautiful, and it had a sense of meaning. The kids in this film did a great job acting, it had the potential to come off very cheesy, but it was very well done.
It is always nice to see a story of redemption, and I felt like the build of the characters was good. The moviegoer really gets a chance to establish a connection with Amir and Hassan, you begin to identify with the psychology of the characters and their motivations. This was a well written story, and will definitely evoke feeling and emotion in it’s audience.
Typically in America, we don’t get to see many movies about life in Afghanistan that aren’t told from a war perspective. To see the underlying political commentary about the Taliban helps to personify the Afghan cause, and really makes you think about what is going on in the world around you.
The special features of this film include:
Commentary with Marc Forster, Khaled Hosseini and David Benoff
Words from The Kite Runner
Images from The Kite Runner
Theatrical Trailer HD
