My TV decided to go on the blink last night, which led me into watching a film that I have wanted to see for quite some time. With it being based on an exceptional novel by Khaled Hosseini, I had already made a pre-conception that the film could never be as good as the book. I was almost wrong.
The Kite Runner is a roller coaster of emotions, moving you to tears at many different points throughout. Very much ‘epic’ like in the sense that it takes a on a huge historical event, and breaks it down to the very core, the people involved.
The movie is filmed over three decades of war-torn Afghanistan, allowing us into a world of torment, anger and hurt. Amongst, which we are presented with the main characters of the story, Amir and Hassan. The main storyline revolves around Amir, a well-to-do middle class boy, witnessing Hassan, his servant and friend being raped. It is from this point in that their friendship suffers as Amir’s guilt and feelings of powerlessness take over. Various compelling situations occur and we see the two separate with Amir moving to the USA and leaving Hassan (and his guilt) behind.
Almost 20 years later, Amir is forced to go back to face his demons and with that, finally achieve an ultimate sense of redemption for the betrayal of his friend all those years ago.
One of the many reasons as to why I loved this film was because of how real it felt NAY was. Not only did it refrain from taking away anything from the original novel (apart from certain monologues), but also stayed true to the historic and cultural elements throughout. However, the film focused on the relationships of the characters rather than the underlying political theme that simmered beneath parts of the book. It’s the film’s quasi-darkness and social edge that help provide it its backbone and strength (although it could be argued the producers don't quite push the artistic side far enough. NG)
I must say this is a more than solid adaptation by director, Marc Forster (who incidentally went on to direct the latest Bond opus, The Quantum of Solace).
Grade: B+ (7.5/10)
The Kite Runner is a roller coaster of emotions, moving you to tears at many different points throughout. Very much ‘epic’ like in the sense that it takes a on a huge historical event, and breaks it down to the very core, the people involved.
The movie is filmed over three decades of war-torn Afghanistan, allowing us into a world of torment, anger and hurt. Amongst, which we are presented with the main characters of the story, Amir and Hassan. The main storyline revolves around Amir, a well-to-do middle class boy, witnessing Hassan, his servant and friend being raped. It is from this point in that their friendship suffers as Amir’s guilt and feelings of powerlessness take over. Various compelling situations occur and we see the two separate with Amir moving to the USA and leaving Hassan (and his guilt) behind.
Almost 20 years later, Amir is forced to go back to face his demons and with that, finally achieve an ultimate sense of redemption for the betrayal of his friend all those years ago.
One of the many reasons as to why I loved this film was because of how real it felt NAY was. Not only did it refrain from taking away anything from the original novel (apart from certain monologues), but also stayed true to the historic and cultural elements throughout. However, the film focused on the relationships of the characters rather than the underlying political theme that simmered beneath parts of the book. It’s the film’s quasi-darkness and social edge that help provide it its backbone and strength (although it could be argued the producers don't quite push the artistic side far enough. NG)
I must say this is a more than solid adaptation by director, Marc Forster (who incidentally went on to direct the latest Bond opus, The Quantum of Solace).
Grade: B+ (7.5/10)
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