THE KITE RUNNER is one of these movies that' gains a limited release on the art house/ foreign language circuit is totally loved by critics and people who never pay a penny to watch a mainstream movie . It's also a film with a message and a deep subtext about friendship in the face of adversity which can be a rather hit and miss concept for a movie . Knowing this I delayed watching the film until tonight where I chanced upon it . It's a fair enough film though certainly not a great one
What the film does succeed in doing is not painting 1970s Afghanistan as some sort of third world cess pit . For an adventurous backpacker from the period it was a favourite destination on the Kathmandu - Istanbul " Hippy trail " and the Afghans are painted as sophisticated intellectuals whose only link to the past is in keeping with an honor system along with the portrayal of division among the differing Afghan tribes . Unfortunately bad things in both films and life happen to nice people and the upper class Baba and his young son Amir flee the Soviet invasion to Pakistan and there to America where Amir grows up to be a novelist unable to shake off a feeling of guilt about abandoning his childhood friend Hassan
THE KITE RUNNER also deserves slight credit for the portrayal of the Taliban . To quote Christopher Hitchens " They're not the wretched of the Earth - they're the scum of the Earth " They patrol the rubble of Afghanistan on beard patrols , provide half time entertainment during soccer matches by stoning adulterers and despite banning music visit orphanages to satisfy their lust for children ( Along with flying kites ) they're not above keeping a ghetto blaster or two for themselves
Why did I say " slight credit " ? To be honest I don't think the violent , stomach churning and often hypocritical theocratic tyranny of the Taliban was shown harshly enough . You can't give a dog like the Taliban a bad enough name and would have liked to seen the way they treat the inhabitants of Afghanistan . There's also a Pashtun character who is introduced early in the story and appears later in he film which gives the impression that the Taaliban are an Afghan organisation when in reality they're a Pakistani militia which invaded the country of Afghanistan in the mid 1990s . Many Pastuns did join the Taliban , but many didn't and they suffered by the regime along with Hazaras , Tadjiks , Uzbeks and the other Afghan tribes
Undoubtedly the biggest failing of the film is that I never felt engaged for much of the running time . It's difficult not to compare this movie with THE KILLING FIELDS since both movies feature a deep subtext of the bond of friendship enduring through adversity and war . . Of course THE KILLING FIELDS is based upon a true story whilst this merely based upon a novel . It's a film that's directed in a rather flat manner by Marc Forster which isn't necessarily a criticism because the acting is convincing and was shocked to find Khalid Abdalla is Glasgow born , I genuinely though he was an Afghan , but I was left with the feeling that despite THE KITE RUNNER being a fair movie it should have been a great and unforgettable movie experience
What the film does succeed in doing is not painting 1970s Afghanistan as some sort of third world cess pit . For an adventurous backpacker from the period it was a favourite destination on the Kathmandu - Istanbul " Hippy trail " and the Afghans are painted as sophisticated intellectuals whose only link to the past is in keeping with an honor system along with the portrayal of division among the differing Afghan tribes . Unfortunately bad things in both films and life happen to nice people and the upper class Baba and his young son Amir flee the Soviet invasion to Pakistan and there to America where Amir grows up to be a novelist unable to shake off a feeling of guilt about abandoning his childhood friend Hassan
THE KITE RUNNER also deserves slight credit for the portrayal of the Taliban . To quote Christopher Hitchens " They're not the wretched of the Earth - they're the scum of the Earth " They patrol the rubble of Afghanistan on beard patrols , provide half time entertainment during soccer matches by stoning adulterers and despite banning music visit orphanages to satisfy their lust for children ( Along with flying kites ) they're not above keeping a ghetto blaster or two for themselves
Why did I say " slight credit " ? To be honest I don't think the violent , stomach churning and often hypocritical theocratic tyranny of the Taliban was shown harshly enough . You can't give a dog like the Taliban a bad enough name and would have liked to seen the way they treat the inhabitants of Afghanistan . There's also a Pashtun character who is introduced early in the story and appears later in he film which gives the impression that the Taaliban are an Afghan organisation when in reality they're a Pakistani militia which invaded the country of Afghanistan in the mid 1990s . Many Pastuns did join the Taliban , but many didn't and they suffered by the regime along with Hazaras , Tadjiks , Uzbeks and the other Afghan tribes
Undoubtedly the biggest failing of the film is that I never felt engaged for much of the running time . It's difficult not to compare this movie with THE KILLING FIELDS since both movies feature a deep subtext of the bond of friendship enduring through adversity and war . . Of course THE KILLING FIELDS is based upon a true story whilst this merely based upon a novel . It's a film that's directed in a rather flat manner by Marc Forster which isn't necessarily a criticism because the acting is convincing and was shocked to find Khalid Abdalla is Glasgow born , I genuinely though he was an Afghan , but I was left with the feeling that despite THE KITE RUNNER being a fair movie it should have been a great and unforgettable movie experience