The Kite Runner

...is the story of an Afghani-American writer and his childhood in Afghanistan, especially concerning his friendship with his father’s servant’s son. The first half of the film recounts the childhood of Amir (the writer) up until he flees Afghanistan with his wealthy father when the Russians invade, not because of the Russians, but because of his father is a communist sympathizer. The second half of the film gives some details about his life in America before he receives a phone call from an old friend asking him to return and save his nephew. There is a very blunt theme about bullies and having the courage to stand up to them which is all done very dramatically, supposedly a good thing considering this is a dramatic film. However, drama is easy enough to come by and perhaps the sign of a good drama is the ability to suggest, rather than embellish, emotion. In any case, The Kite Runner (directed by Marc Forster and based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini) definitely has points that are cringingly over-dramatic, however sparingly, and is only redeemed by Homayoun Ershadi’s (Taste of Cherry) performance as Amir’s father.

Bad - it was okay.

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Starring Homayoun Ershadi
Written by Khaled Housseini
Directed by Marc Forster