The Kite Runner

One of the most powerful themes in literature and subsequently film is that of redemption. All human beings do things that they regret, things that separated them from those closest to them that they have to carry the rest of their lives. Stories that show how a person can rise above the past to redeem themselves have the ability to uplift the viewers, touching them on a deep emotional level. One such film is ‘The Kite Runner’ by Marc Forster. This movie places a human face on war. This is done not with the typical solders facing death on the battlefield but with children, the innocent victims of any armed conflict. Based on the successful novel by Khaled Hosseini the film follows two boys living in Kubul, Afghanistan and how the war waged against the Soviet Union affected the rest of their lives. This was the first novel for Hosseini after he gave up the practice of medicine as an internist and turned to becoming an author. While most of what happens in his film is fictional he understands the characters and writes from the point of view on an immigrant embarking on a new path in life. This gives the novel and by extension the film realism that rings true to the audience. So many films take a hit book and modify it beyond recognition. Here the script remains emotionally true to the literary work.

Director Marc Forster is not a novice at the helm of a feature film. He is best known for his film ‘Monster’s Ball’ which brought Halle Berry her Oscar for Best Actress. He also did ‘Finding Neverland’ which received critical acclaim and some measure of box office success. These two films are relevant in an examination of this movie since they established Forester as able to handle complex even emotionally painful scenes and dealing with a film concerning children. Forester also understands what it is to be an immigrant. Born in Germany he now calls America home. This film is very ambitious for the film maker. The locations ranged all the way to China with all the technical difficulties such a shoot presents. Generally his direction works but the film does have its flaws. It is acceptable and even necessary to split the story between the past and present. This is needed to supply the motivation for the adult characters. Forester does lose the narration in the transision between the past and present. Aside from that Forester does provide a well crafted film. The pacing is very well done moving the story line along without dragging in the middle like many films like this do. Forester does use some computer effects that don’t come across especially well but over all the direction is straight forward without the usual film school artsy camera angels or lighting tricks. He sets out to tell a story and does achieve that goal.

One problem that is shared by Forester and script writer David Benioff is the use of too many plot conveniences. For a story about the consequences of a bad moment in life there are too many aspects of the story that are too neat and tidy. Life is messy, especially lives like the ones shown here. There should have been some loose threads that are never explained. By tying up all the threads of the story it comes across too much like a well packed Hollywood drama. Forester and Benioff do work well as a team. Together they made ‘Stay’, a dark psychological thriller. This did allow them to capture the mood of the novel although it tends to fall apart in the third act. To be fair it is difficult to take on such dark subject matter and consistently keep things moving and on track. It would be impossible not to touch on the draconian religious regime without getting sidetracked to at least some extent. This is made more arduous by the non-linear format of the presentation. It is quite a task for a script writer to take on a novel like this but over all Benioff manages to do a very good job.

The film is set in two chronological locations. The first is in Afghanistan just before the Soviet invasion. The second is in the present day with the adult versions of the main characters. Both sides of the cast do well but the children are exceptional especially with the adult themes they have to explore in their roles. Amir (played as a child by Zekeria Ebrahimi) is best friends with a boy of lower social and economic background, Hassan (played as a child by Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada). The pair enjoy life particularly fying their kites and taking in a dubbed version of ‘The Magnificent Seven’ in the local theater. Hassin’s family works as servants for Amir’s parents but doesn’t seem to matter to the boys. Because of his parents financial and social position Amir is able to attend school and is able to read, something denied to his friend. Amir reads to Hassan something that both enjoy. His love of literature even has Amir begin writing his own stories that he shares with Hassan. In his father’s eyes Amir is not tough enough. He has to rely on the protection of Hassan from the neighborhood bullies who are always attacking him. Amir feels that his father resents him because of his inability to defend himself and the fact that his mother died giving birth to him. Kite flying in Kabul is a very popular and competitive sport. The kites are coated with ground glass to enable them to cut the lines of their opponent’s kites. If a kite is cut loose then whoever retrieves it gets to keep it. Most kites are flown by a pair of children. One is the kite flyer, the other, the kite runner, runs after downed kites. In this case Hassan is the runner. One day Hassen is running after a kite that Amir cut and runs into the lead bully Assef (Elham Ehsas). He hates the ethic group that the boys belong to and takes out his prejudices violently. On this day Assef corners Hassen and rapes him while Amir looks on from the shadows. Amir is overtaken by shame and guilt for not coming to the aid of his best friend. Afterwards Amir takes out his feelings by mistreating his friend.

Amir’s family is known anti-communists and manages to leave the country when the Soviets invade. They settle in California where Amir’s father has to take a menial job working at a gas station. The cost of their freedom was moving from a large, well furnished home to a much smaller place and modest means here in the States. Amir (now played by Khalid Abdalla) marries and becomes a published author. One day Amir gets a phone call from his father’s former business partner, Rahim Khan (Shaun Toub), back in Afghanistan. He urges Amir to come back to Pakistan to make things right. As a boy he betrayed Hassen by allowing him to be blamed for a theft. He discovers that Hassen had been hired to take care of his old family home and was killed by the Taliban along with his wife. Now Amir has to help their son.

The strong emotions and excellent cast go a long way to cover some of the technical missteps made in this film. It remains a powerful character study examining the themes of contrition and redemption. The DVD is release by Dreamworks Home Entertainment and it is perfectly mastered. The 2.35:1 video is exceptional with a natural color balance and perfect contrast. The Dolby 5.1 provides an ambience that pulls you into the film. There is a commentary track featuring Marc Forster, Khaled Hosseini and David Benioff that is detailed and informative. There are also images and words from the novel. This is a difficult film to watch at times but well worth the effort.

Posted 03/04/08