The Kite Runner

GREEN’S COME BACK TO JAMAICA... ER, AFGHANISTAN REVIEW:

I have to admit that I had never heard of this film before Scribe, in his weaselly quest to appease (suck up to) the masses, who have suggested that we, Sir Scribe-a-lot and myself, ought to review more “recent” movies to make this blog more relevant and dare I say, ‘more interesting.’ I’ll further admit that once I got the DVD from the library, I found every excuse not to watch it, preferring to watch anything else instead. Going to the dentist seemed more appealing than watching this movie. Or at least I imagined it so.

The movie sat right near my television for more than a week, looking rather intently at me every time I walked past it- awaiting the day when I had to watch it else pay exorbitant late fees for borrowing it longer than I should.

Evil, evil DVD...

As it turns out, my worst sweat-filled, stress-inducing nightmares were totally unfounded.

What you have here is the very moving and emotionally touching story of Amir and Hassan, two boys - the best of friends - growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970‘s, but the movie doesn't begin that way. The young boys are inseparable, until one incident fractures their friendship and the two never speak again. The story then follows Amir, who moves to the United States with his father when the communist Soviet Union invades Afghanistan. Flash forward to 2000. Amir, now a published author living happily in San Francisco with his wife, receives a phone call from an old family friend with information that sets him on a journey which will change his life forever.

A good story like this about friendship and loyalty transcends language barriers, so it didn’t bother me at all when the characters spoke in the Afghan language and English subtitles were used during the flashback sequence. The kite wars scenes are filmed in such a way as to resemble a great car chase, and are (amazingly) riveting. Marc Forster does a wonderful job directing the largely non-English speaking cast. If I hadn’t looked it up on www.imdb.com, I wouldn’t have realized that the scenes taking place in Afghanistan/Pakistan were really filmed in China. The story is based on Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel and I believe screenwriter David Benioff did an excellent job adapting from the source material, though I‘ll admit I have not read Hosseini‘s book.

Don’t let any cultural bias prevent you from enjoying this really great movie. It’s a must see, without a doubt.

****½ out of *****

SCRIBE'S PISSING IN THE BEARDS OF THE MULLAHS REVIEW:

“The Kite Runner” is another in a long line of critically praised literary novels adapted into a film. This one concerns two boys growing up in 1970’s Afghanistan and the far-reaching effects of friendship, betrayal and change.

Most of the film is told in extended flashback with a brief epilogue, always a slippery slope in literature but it works rather well on film.

“The Kite Runner” opens with Amir, now embarking on his dream of being a novelist, receiving a phone call from someone telling him he needs to return to Afghanistan right away. This is is in the year 2000, twenty-one years after he and his father fled the country as the Soviets launched their invasion. From here we return to the 1970’s for lots and lots of establishing of Amir’s friendship with Hassan, the son of his father’s most trusted servant.

In Afghanistan, kite runners are kids who literally fly kites in impromptu competitions involving some rather aggressive maneuvers. The trick is to actually “cut” the other person’s kite, thereby winning… something.

The thing that distinguishes Hassan from the other assistants is his seemingly mystical ability to predict where the other kites will fly and where they will land. If this sounds dull to you, don’t worry, somehow it’s fascinating.

As any student of recent history knows, Afghanistan has seen its share of invasions and wars for the souls of its people. The Soviet takeover looms over the heads of the country as (main kid’s) family continues to do what the wealthy do best: Live lives of opulence and act like nothing has changed. In fact, his father is startlingly apolitical and irreligious, making the most poignant statement in the film: “”The mullahs (religious leaders) try to own our souls and the Communists tell us we don’t have any.” He also expresses a desire to piss in the beards of their religious leaders. In short, he’s da man!

Eventually, through a series of misadventures and peeks inside Afghanistan’s culture of the 1970’s that is at once riveting and alienating, something truly tragic occurs. In fact, it’s a scene that’s so disturbing and unexpected that it lingers in the mind long after it’s over. It involves a pack of bullies who corner Hassan and we’ll leave it at that. Amir witnesses what occurs and his opinion of his friend changes instantly.

In what will be his most shameful moment, Amir begins mistreating his former friend because of his own inadequacies. One is torn between disbelief and disgust as he engineers ways to frame the boy in order to get him and his father exiled from their home.

Like all good period pieces about change, Amir and his father are forced to flee their homeland in the face of overwhelming political upheaval. His dad is far too opinionated and far too wealthy to be allowed to live. And so they come to America, where his father opens a small convenience store.

But the story doesn’t end there. Amir grows up to be a writer despite an apparent Afghanistani bias against telling stories for a living, falls in love with an exiled general’s daughter, and faces personal tragedy.

As we are returned to the moment of the phone call, we find out that he must return to Afghanistan one more time too fulfill a promise he made to Hassan. Only one problem there: This is Taliban controlled Afghanistan and he knows next to nothing about his homeland anymore. At one point he is even informed that if he were seen on the streets without a beard, he would be killed.

The third act of the film is every bit a powerful as the first, a true rarity in films these days. Amir's mission is harrowing and difficult, but the final moments of the film descend into one of the subtlest but most disturbing things captured in recent years. Without giving too much away, there’s a connection to the past that, while not unexpected, is still rather jarring and difficult to watch.

"The Kite Runner" may not be a masterpiece in the tradition of "The Killing Fields," but it is a good film with solid performances.

**** out of *****