Film: The Kite Runner
Release date: 2nd June 2008
Certificate: 12
Running time: 122 mins
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub, Sayed Jafar Masihullah Gharibzada, Zekeria Ebrahimi
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: DreamWorks
Format: DVD
Country: USA/China
Khalid Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner was a surprise hit when published in 2003. Not only did it become a bestseller but it went on to stir up its fair share of controversy. Despite themes of friendship, loyalty and respect, the book’s lasting effect in the media was its portrayal of the Taliban, which at the time was a freshly touchy subject. Years later Dreamworks and director Marc Forster saw past such controversy to bring Hosseini’s vision of modern day Afghanistan to the screen.
Young Amir is growing up fast in Kabul. In the months leading up to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, he spends his time fascinated by literature, writing stories and hanging out with his best friend, Hassan. Hassan is a young Hazara boy and the son of the housekeeper at Amir’s father’s wealthy home. Despite their social standing, the two young boys form a friendship around a mutual love for Steve McQueen movies and flying and running kites.
Amir lives alone with his father, who worries about his son’s inability to defend himself against neighbourhood children who pick on him because of his friendship with a Hazara boy. After winning a kite flying contest in the middle of Kabul, Hassan is attacked by three Afghan boys. Amir watches his friend as he is tortured by the bullies, but he is too scared to help him. Hassan is then raped and beaten. As time goes by, Amir and Hassan grow apart, as Amir is shamed by what he has done, and uncomfortable in Hassan’s presence - he frames Hassan for the theft of his watch, and subsequently, the young boy and his father leave the house.
Years later and Amir is now a published author. He and his father have been living in the USA since fleeing the Russian invasion. As he settles with a young wife, he is still shamed by his actions towards Hassan in his past. One day, he receives a call from Pakistan where he is offered a chance to redeem himself by returning to Taliban ruled Afghanistan…
As a novel, The Kite Runner was both probing in its look at the demise of Afghanistan and heartfelt with its themes of friendship and redemption. There are elements of this here, but sadly Hosseini’s novel does not translate as well on screen, as the film gets lost halfway between realism and thick melodrama.
Throughout the film we are treated to moments of less than authentic compassion, less than feasible plot twists and, with the film’s conclusion, one big fat metaphor so unsubtle it shows no trust in its audience. The story of the novel can be seen in this light, too, as Amir returns to his past to overcome his childhood adversary and finally become a man. This all sounds a bit familiar, yet Hosseini’s novel disguises a conventional arc with good storytelling and subtlety.
That is not to say that the film fails to induce any emotion in its audience, as there are many engrossing moments, unfortunately they mostly come at the beginning of the film. This is due to the two fantastic child performances, Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada’s doe-eyed Hassan shows a bravery and devotion that make his mistreatment all the more empathetic, and Zekeria Ebrahimi brings food for thought as the young Amir. Amir’s act of cowardice leaves you somewhere between anger and sympathy. Ebrahimi portrays this inner turmoil as a child struggling to comprehend his own actions perfectly, and it is essential to the story that we still care about his character.
The film provides many harrowing images in its portrayal of an Afghanistan in ruins, even if it fails to enlighten us on an image of the Afghan people not already suspected by media stereotype. It does, however, enforce and build upon this image to chilling effect. In one particular scene, a truck load of Taliban officials bring an adulterous woman into a football stadium during a football match and she is stoned to death in front of the crowd. This is one example of how realism is superior to melodrama in evoking emotion.
As a director, Marc Forster has a history of making fairly underwhelming films. Take 2001’s Monster’s Ball, or the more recent Finding Neverland, which both had similar elements of melancholia and crowd pleasing fights with adversity. Here he has taken a low key novel and tried to produce an epic, perhaps with award season in mind, but his treatment offers yet another story of the human spirit that doesn’t quite relate. Perhaps Hosseini’s story could have been put to better use in someone else’s hands.
Readers of the novel may feel let down by a film that fails to capture the appeal and effect it was attempting to adapt. That said, there is a lot of plus points, including a good cast and some very involving moments. It is just a pity that the plus points are outweighed by the negatives. LW
