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The Kite Runner (4 stars)
The Kite Runner might not be as powerful as its novel counterpart,
but it is still an affecting story worthy of the silver screen.
Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) was born
of privilege in Afganistan, but he always feels his father, Baba
(Homayoun Ershadi), favored the servant’s son, Hassan (Ahmad
Khan Mahmidzada).
Hassan and Amir are close friends,
despite their social classes, and Hassan would do anything for
Amir.
But after Amir witnesses Hassan falling
victim to bullies of the worst kind and does nothing, their friendship
loses its strong bond.
Years later, Amir, now a successful
writer living in San Fransico, gets a phone call from a family
friend with a chance to redeem himself.
The best-selling novel by Khaled
Hosseini is a gorgeous character study of Amir, and the movie does
a great job of translating it.
However, the film, of course, skips
over the majority of the novel, just touching on the juicy parts.
But what the flick skims over gives
the story depth.
The moviegoers don’t get to witness Baba’s anguish
of transitioning from wealthy Afghan to gas station worker in America.
The viewers don’t get to truly understand how much Amir’s
inaction haunts him.
After reading the novel, the film
just has much to desire.
But the movie, on its own, is a strongly
written drama with great performances and sweepingly gorgeous cinematography.
The viewers are attached to these
characters from the get-go, and become more immersed in their storylines
as the movie progresses.
Director Marc Foster (Finding Neverland,
Stranger than Fiction) did a great job keeping the script genuine
but complex as in the novel—just not as in depth.
The movie is something worth renting
if one never wants to read the novel or already has.
But as a substitute for reading the
intoxicatingly rich novel, the film is below par.
The audience will not experience
the full realm of Amir’s atonement without reading The
Kite Runner.
Overall, The Kite Runner is a good
film, a decent adaptation, but lacks the entire essence found in
the Hosseini’s novel.
— Sara Pintilie
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