The kite runner
The Trailer: Since I found it very difficult to post the trailer here from youtube, you can just copy the url below to see The Kite Runner Trailer. Thank you and Goodluck!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sLtavGjAOJY
Directed by
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Produced by
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Screenplay by
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Based on
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Starring
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Music by
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Cinematography
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Editing by
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Studio
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Distributed by
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Release date(s)
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December 14, 2007
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Running time
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128 minutes
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My Review:
As
Hassan ran for the kite, Amir shouted at him:
“Hassan,
come back with it!”
To
Amir he replied:
“For you, a thousand times
over.”
An unforgettable line in the movie, it actually sums up the depth of the friendship of two young boys who grew up together
inseparably in Kabul, Afghanistan until one tragic event changed their lives
forever.
The
Kite Runner, a 2007 American drama
film, is a cinematic delight and truly an amazing film that pierces one’s heart
long after the movie has ended…in fact, much, much longer! An adaptation of the
best-selling novel of the same title by Khaled Hosseini, and nominated for Best
Foreign Language Film in the 65th golden Globe Awards and in the 61st
British Academy Film Awards, Director Marc Forster of the famous movies like this
year’s World War Z (with Brad Pitt), Finding Neverland (with Johnny Depp and
Kate Winslet), and Monster’s Ball that
earned Halle Berry her first Oscar for Best Actress, courageously tackles this controversial story of
“friendship, honor, guilt, and violence.” However, I would say that this is
also about redemption and, as the film's poster aptly says, a way to be good again.
The
movie takes us to a span of 22 years (1978 – 2000) and the changes that took place
in Kabul within those years, as well as the effects of such changes in the lives of
the characters: From the Soviet Union military intervention in 1979 to the mass
exodus of Afghan refugees to Pakistan and the U.S., and to the rise of the
Taliban power after the civil war from 1992 to 1996. With this, I would say
that the title of the first published book by Amir in the story “A Season for Ashes” accurately describes his journey back to his
beloved Kabul from which Amir has to rise from the ashes of his past like a Phoenix, and to start life anew!
The Movie:
The Movie:
The
Kite Runner opens up with Amir and his
wife Soraya watching kids flying kites at bayside park in San Francisco in the
year 2000. Arriving at their home with a package of his newly published book “A Season for Ashes,” Amir got a call
from a family friend in Pakistan, Rahim Khan, asking Amir to visit him there.
It gives Amir the opportunity to see Rahim, the man to whom he dedicated his
book, but whose health was failing. That call leading to his visit to Pakistan
brought Amir back to his childhood memories, both joyful and painful ones,
especially the ones with a long-lost childhood friend Hassan, the son of their
Hazara servant Ali. Their friendship was marked by the loyalty of Hassan to
Amir, to which the line “For you, a thousand times over” describes it
so prophetically and profoundly.
It is this friendship that the film tackles so
painfully, from their love for kite fighting which is a popular sport among the
boys of Kabul, to that tragic event that prefers humiliation over a kite for a
friend, and to that courage to return to the now dangerous Kabul under the
control of the Taliban for the sake of redeeming one’s self from helplessness and
guilt. As the movie progresses, one can’t help but admire not just the
friendship of Amir and Hassan but also the courageous and the principled Agha
Sahib, the father of Amir, particularly in one scene when they were stopped by
a Russian soldier on their way to Pakistan. See it for yourself to realize how
such incident made Amir even more the person that he became. The film also
shows how “secrets” are gradually
revealed, and how they make the characters even more interesting and more
human. Take note of Amir wife’s and father’s pasts and see how Amir took them
by heart and even helped him put the pieces of his past together, making him
more determined to do the right thing this time.
The film also gives us a
glimpse of the present Afghanistan through Amir’s journey to Kabul, with the drastic
changes that he noticed, and the danger he feels and sees lurking in every
corner of the city that was once a haven of his precious childhood dream and
memories. He eventually met the person that led him to his main goal of his
visit to Kabul, but not without the risk of losing his own life. The movie goes
on to show us the painful experience of the boy Sohrab, the son of Hassan taken
in custody by the Taliban to serve as a dance boy. Then, there’s the encounter of
Amir with Assef, the former bully, showing us how determined Amir was in making
up for the past.
When Amir said to Sohrab as he volunteered to be the boy’s “kite runner”: “For you, a thousand times over,” one can't help but be awed by the friendship and commitment Amir and Hassan pledged for one another which the film so sincerely and painstakingly captured.
The Book vs The Film
When Amir said to Sohrab as he volunteered to be the boy’s “kite runner”: “For you, a thousand times over,” one can't help but be awed by the friendship and commitment Amir and Hassan pledged for one another which the film so sincerely and painstakingly captured.
The Book vs The Film
I’ve read the book when I was in Peru in 2004. And I remember thinking about it
for days after I read it. The story was so painful and Hosseini was just so
gifted as to vividly describe the events and the emotional upheavals that the
characters are going through. I was wondering, however, how it could possibly be shot in Afghanistan since I believed that the
present situation would not warrant it. I learned that they actually had the
shooting in Kashgar, China due to the dangers at that time in Afghanistan. Moreover,
all throughout the movie, Dari was majority of the film’s dialogue with
subtitles in English. The thing with foreign film is that it demands more
focusing since you have to look at the scenes and read the subtitles at the
same time. But with The Kite Runner, it’s
worth the effort.
I learned that the movie was made not without
endangering the child actors’ lives due to some violent reactions of the film
particularly to the sexual nature of some scenes. They actually had to bring four child actors to a safe place in another country to protect them from such reactions.
Reading the book and watching
the movie afterwards made me realized that the latter did not really capture
the nuances one finds in the book. But that’s the risk one has to take in
adapting a book into a film. Emotion-wise, I found the book richer than the
film. However, this is where musical scoring becomes a tool to help the
audience relate to the characters' emotions in various scenes and transport them
into a particular place and time. Alberto Iglesias did it very well. He
artistically weaves his music into the movie, which I believe made him worthy
to be nominated in the 65th Golden Globe Award and in the 80th
Academy Award for Best Original Score in Motion Picture.
And I do give credit to Marc Forster for
his directorial skill. The child actors came so naturally and the kite-fighting
was so exciting that I felt as if I were with the kids shouting and applauding
in ecstasy for every kite that was cut by the victors. Not only that: the movie
evokes in me that sense of wonder of how real friendship transcends class and
status in life, and how it overcomes fears and failures. The Kite Runner
is this kind of film. Moreover, it leaves one with an impression that in life,
there is indeed a chance to be good again, and it’s for real!
I firmly believe
that The Kite Runner is one of the greatest films one will ever
see! It's enchanting, moving, and awe - inspiring!
For
this movie's rating: 4 and 1/2 stars!
P.S. I have the original video of the movie just in case one would care to watch it and could not find a copy of its DVD in video stores.
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