Kite Runner -- Movie Review


Kite Runner isn't a blockbuster action film -- though there is plenty of action in the movie -- but it's a movie worth seeing. I've not read the book, so I can't say how closely the movie adheres to the book, or whether in this case it matters. In any case, I was able to view it last evening on DVD.

Kite Runner is the story of two boys growing up in Afghanistan on the eve of the Soviet invasion. Amir is a Pashtun boy and son of a fairly well to do Afghan. His mother died in childhood, and he feels as if his father blames him for this. His best friend is the son of a servant -- Hassan. While Amir has a tendency to duck any conflict, Hassan is willing to step in and do anything for his friend. Their friendship comes to an end after they win a kite flying contest and Hassan is beaten and raped by a group of older boys -- because unlike them he's Hazara. Amir breaks off the relationship because of his shame and guilt at not stepping in and rescuing his friend.

In time Amir and his father flee to America, where they make a new life. Amir continues with his story writing, marries the daughter of a former Afghan general, and watches as his father dies. Having published a book of stories, Amir receives a call from a family friend, telling him he must come to Pakistan. There he discovers two things. First Hassan is his brother -- the son of his father and Hassan's mother. Hassan is now dead, executed by the Taliban, but Hassan leaves behind a son -- whom Amir must rescue from an orphanage, though in time he learns that Sohrab, his nephew, has been taken by the Taliban. As he tries to get the boy back, he discovers that the one who has taken custody of him and is now sexually abusing the boy is none other than the older boy who brutalized Hassan. They will escape -- as Sohrab rescues Amir -- the irony of the film -- and return to America.

The film ends with a kite flying scene.

That in essence is the film -- a look into the fragility of friendship, the brutality of a hierarchical world order, the brutality of religious extremism, and the impact of invasion and flight. We see the impact of betrayal and of prejudice (Amir's father-in-law looks down on Sohrab because of his tribal status -- even as did the boys who brutalized his father). We see an Afghanistan that in 1978 was in some aspects fairly modern and open. It was a place where young boys could enjoy a kite flying contest. There were of course, Mullah's preaching a strident Islamism, but there was freedom to chose one's path. At the same time, there was Communist activism, that would lead to the invasion. We see how difficult it can be to make a new life in a new country -- where a once prosperous community leader ends up working in a convenience store. later, we see a Kabul that is devastated and violent, without freedom of any kind. In his return there is sadness both at the loss of a home and a friendship.

The movie ends before 2000, so we don't move on into the present. It is a movie worth seeing, contemplating, and discussing. If you've seen the film or read the book, I'd be interested in your thoughts. If you've not seen it, I hope you'll do so (even if I've given away the plot).

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