After Amir winning a competition of kiting, Hassan runs to bring a kite to Amir, but he is beaten and raped by the brutal Assef in an empty street to protect Amir's kite the coward Amir witness the assault but does not help the loyal Hassam. In return, Amir feels a great respect for his father's best friend Rahim Khan, who supports his intention to become a writer. Amir feels that his wise and good father Baba blames him for the death of his mother in the delivery, and also that his father loves and prefers Hassan to him. In the 70's in Afghanistan, the Pushtun boy Amir and the Hazara boy Hassan, who is his loyal friend and son of their Hazara servant Ali, are raised together in Amir's father house, playing and kiting on the streets of a peaceful Kabul. Still, 'Kite Runner' flies high much of its running time - even if it never quite soars.After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble. His chance for redemption in the film's (and book's) final act strains credulity and, like the film, doesn't pack enough of an emotional punch. Even after the transgressions of his youth, he grows into a mouse of a man (played by Khalid Abdalla). 'The Kite Runner' quite simply has a very difficult protagonist in Amir. The film's faults can hardly be blamed on the writer or director. Ershadi is given many chances to shine in the role and he does so beautifully - at a perilous border crossing and later in life making his way in America. Baba is one of the old guard - bound by a devotion to honor. He is powerfully portrayed by Homayoun Ershadi. The writer and his director also take pains to bring the Afghani culture to life, specifically when it comes to questions of pride and honor. The script by David Benioff ( 'Stay', '25th Hour', 'Troy') does an admirable job of condensing multiple characters and time periods into a cohesive two hours. Amir's reaction to the attack haunts him all his life and forms the catalyst for 'Kite Runner'. One day, Hassan chases a kite down the wrong dark alley and is brutalized by Assef. Seamless special effects are used to follow the kites as they swoop and soar in an aerial ballet that will make any audience member recall the carefree days of youth.

Hassan, it turns out, has an innate talent for kite running - correctly predicting where a felled kite will land. Amir and Hassan immerse themselves in competitive kite-flying (where one kite is used to cut the string of another). The two appear to be brothers-in-arms, but their loyalty is called into question by some older boys led by Assef (Elham Ehsas), who calls for a kind of ethnic cleansing of the Hazara. Amir is of the ruling Pashtun class and Hassan is Hazara, second-class citizens relegated to servitude. Children play in the streets, adults go to work, and everyone turns out to see the kite-flying competition (to be honest, as shown in the film, it looks pretty amazing).Īmir and Hassan (newcomers Zekiria Ebrahimi and Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) are the two boys in question. But in the film's time period, the city is like any other, blissfully unaware of the catastrophes yet to befall it. Nowadays, the name Kabul is almost synonymous with 'war-torn'. The idea of Afghanistan in 1978 is fascinating in and of itself. It has the effect of planting the viewer in this largely alien environment. It's not a gimmick, it's a choice (conscious or not) and surprisingly, the result is more engrossing than distracting. Your eye has to work and search the frame. The technique has the effect of setting the viewer slightly off balance. When the story shifts to America, the director reverts back to the familiar left-to-right. Forster subtly frames his scenes from right-to-left, as his subjects might prefer them. When the action takes place in the Middle East, Mr. The film, which tells the story of two Afghani boys separated by class and one dreadful secret, jumps between time (late 70s, 80s and 2000) and place (Kabul, Pakistan, San Francisco). Forster's gently moving adaptation of the best seller by Khaled Hosseini - the director strikes a happy balance between his over-the-top instincts (witness Alberto Iglesias' pushy score) and a respect for the material. At his worst ( 'Stay'), the term 'ham-handed' comes to mind.

At his best ( 'Monster's Ball'), Marc Forster is not the most subtle director.

Kite runner movie