‘The Kite Runner’ – heartrending, but gratifying

[Comment Below]

By Aimee Pitre

“The Kite Runner,” starring Khalid Abdalla, is an extraordinary film based on the popular book by award-winning author Khaled Hosseini. The film whirls around the turmoil in Afghanistan, friendship, redemption and hope, and is definitely one movie you will want to run to watch.

Young Amir and best friend Hassan know not the two different worlds in which they live. Amir, son of a wealthy man in Afghanistan, lacks the courage and confidence his successful father possesses. His best friend Hassan, a Hazara servant boy, lives in the shadows of society, willing to do anything “1,000 times over” for Amir.

Within the peaceful city of Kabul, the two young boys live to fight kites. By using string covered in broken glass, boys all over the city use skill and strategy to fly kites high in the air, cutting down each other’s kites until only one is left flying. Just as victorious to be the last kite flying, children run after fallen kites as champion kite runners.

Hassan, Amir’s kite runner, is the best in Kabul. Some claim he can catch a kite without ever looking in the air. After one particularly successful kite fight, Hassan runs through the streets of Kabul until he is cornered by the local bully. As Amir runs after Hassan, he hides as he watches one of the most traumatic events of their lives.

Though the boys’ friendship is ruined, the hostilities of Afghanistan soon separate the once best friends and they never see each other again. The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, forcing millions of Afghan families out of their homes, seeking new lives. Amir and his father flee to America in hopes of one day returning to their life in Afghanistan.

As Afghanistan continues to fall apart when the Taliban take over, Amir and his father struggle for a successful life in the U.S. With the weight of what he saw always on Amir’s shoulders, he is soon given the opportunity to redeem himself of the betrayal his best friend suffered.

The movie, which follows the storyline of the novel expertly, is a moving and realistic film all must see. As the people of Afghanistan fight to live in a world of violence and hate, Amir must find the peace, courage and confidence he never had.

Send your comments to editor@tigerweekly.com

Originally Published: Issue 603 - April 9, 2008

Share on Facebook

Back to the top