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The Kite Runner - A Movie Review
Aug. 28th, 2008 09:17 pmSaw The Kite Runner on Tuesday night courtesy of Netflix, who has now sent me the first two of the four discs in the Dexter S2 Series. They've suddenly become available. YAY!
The Kite Runner is a lot like the book, in which it was based. It's a tale of two boys and takes place mostly in Afghanistan, briefly in San Francisco, and briefly in Pakistan. The story is also told mostly in the language of Afghanistan, with English subtitles. All the actors are natives of Afghanistan. The music was created by an Afghanistan native - who currently resides in New York and is a friend of my pal Wales.
It takes place in the 1970's much like Persepolis does, then flashes forward to 2000. Showing the political upheaval of those times, when Afghanistan went from a fairly properous country to a dirt poor one. Trees mowed down by Russia, and then of course the fascist and religious fanaticism of The Taliban.
But the tale is mostly about these boys and the relationship between them and with the father, Baba - a courageous and proud man. And it is about kites - which are used as metaphor for the friendship of the two boys.
I was admittedly less than crazy about the book. It felt a bit too neat or conveinent in places. The ending especially felt a tad contrived almost to the point of being cliche.
But there was something about it that continues to haunt me - besides the fact that it is well written and has a certain poetry that one does not often find. It is the relationship between the two boys. Hassan and Amir. Hassan is Hazara - a race in Afghanistan that is considered servant class or lower. You cannot rise up from Hazara. He is the son of one of Amir's father's servants. At the age of 12, Hassan can neither read nor write. Amir is a writer. Both boys are the same age. And while very different, they are inseparable. It is clear that Hassan will do anything for Amir - including eat dirt if Amir told him to. "But you never would?" Hassan says. "No," says Amir. Amir is non-violent, considered cowardly by his father - while Hassan can stick up for both of them. Often using a sling-shot to hold off the stronger bigger boys. But Amir can tell Hassan stories and reads him tales beneath a tree. The first half of the story is about these boys, their bond. It centers on a Kite contest, where you cut as many kites as you can, and chase down the cut kites. Hassan is a Kite Runner, he chases down the kites. But he rarely has to run very far, he just knows innately where they will land. During one of these contests - something happens that changes the relationship between the two boys forever. What happens is horrific. And is an interesting study in how we handle shame, guilt and betrayal. Why the story haunts and what makes it interesting - is the pov is not on the boy who was betrayed but rather on the boy who betrayed him and how. It is a story of redeemption and it is the redeemption that feels a bit contrived but does not take away the examination of the guilt and shame that haunts someone who has made an understandable yet horrific mistake and can't quite find a way to make amends.
If you get the chance I recommend reading the book over the movie, because the book like most books is far better. But the movie works just as well.
[As an aside - they've done something interesting - regular people as in non-politicians or celebrities are getting up to speak - or rather the delegates. Just listened to a life-long Republican and Retired Nurse from North Carolina, who admitted to voting for Nixon, Regan, and both Bushes, but is now voting for Barack Obama, because she cannot afford 4 more years..of this.]
The Kite Runner is a lot like the book, in which it was based. It's a tale of two boys and takes place mostly in Afghanistan, briefly in San Francisco, and briefly in Pakistan. The story is also told mostly in the language of Afghanistan, with English subtitles. All the actors are natives of Afghanistan. The music was created by an Afghanistan native - who currently resides in New York and is a friend of my pal Wales.
It takes place in the 1970's much like Persepolis does, then flashes forward to 2000. Showing the political upheaval of those times, when Afghanistan went from a fairly properous country to a dirt poor one. Trees mowed down by Russia, and then of course the fascist and religious fanaticism of The Taliban.
But the tale is mostly about these boys and the relationship between them and with the father, Baba - a courageous and proud man. And it is about kites - which are used as metaphor for the friendship of the two boys.
I was admittedly less than crazy about the book. It felt a bit too neat or conveinent in places. The ending especially felt a tad contrived almost to the point of being cliche.
But there was something about it that continues to haunt me - besides the fact that it is well written and has a certain poetry that one does not often find. It is the relationship between the two boys. Hassan and Amir. Hassan is Hazara - a race in Afghanistan that is considered servant class or lower. You cannot rise up from Hazara. He is the son of one of Amir's father's servants. At the age of 12, Hassan can neither read nor write. Amir is a writer. Both boys are the same age. And while very different, they are inseparable. It is clear that Hassan will do anything for Amir - including eat dirt if Amir told him to. "But you never would?" Hassan says. "No," says Amir. Amir is non-violent, considered cowardly by his father - while Hassan can stick up for both of them. Often using a sling-shot to hold off the stronger bigger boys. But Amir can tell Hassan stories and reads him tales beneath a tree. The first half of the story is about these boys, their bond. It centers on a Kite contest, where you cut as many kites as you can, and chase down the cut kites. Hassan is a Kite Runner, he chases down the kites. But he rarely has to run very far, he just knows innately where they will land. During one of these contests - something happens that changes the relationship between the two boys forever. What happens is horrific. And is an interesting study in how we handle shame, guilt and betrayal. Why the story haunts and what makes it interesting - is the pov is not on the boy who was betrayed but rather on the boy who betrayed him and how. It is a story of redeemption and it is the redeemption that feels a bit contrived but does not take away the examination of the guilt and shame that haunts someone who has made an understandable yet horrific mistake and can't quite find a way to make amends.
If you get the chance I recommend reading the book over the movie, because the book like most books is far better. But the movie works just as well.
[As an aside - they've done something interesting - regular people as in non-politicians or celebrities are getting up to speak - or rather the delegates. Just listened to a life-long Republican and Retired Nurse from North Carolina, who admitted to voting for Nixon, Regan, and both Bushes, but is now voting for Barack Obama, because she cannot afford 4 more years..of this.]
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