March 16, 2008

It’s safe to say that in modern cinema many filmmakers have forgotten what it means to make a really touching movie. I’m not saying those tear jerking romance films of old aren’t “touching”, but they don’t provoke an extended period of reflection. The Kite Runner however happens to be one of those rare breed of films that manages to sneak inside our consciousness and force us to evaluate how we are living our own lives.

The Kite Runner is based upon the bestselling novel by Afghan American author Khaled Hosseini. The story focuses on two childhood friends “Amir” and “Hassan” growing up in Afghanistan during the mid-70s. Both children engage in the popular local activity of flying kites. Amir’s father, “Baba”, is a wealthy businessman and as a result is able to afford many luxuries that seem out of place in the subpar local surroundings.These luxuries include servants, fine liquors, and famous Americana such as a Ford Mustang. Hassan’s father “Ali” happens to be one of Baba’s servants as well as a close friend. Despite Amir being his own son, Baba nonchalantly implies his favoritism of Hassan. This stems from Hassan showing more courage and boldness, something Baba thinks highly of, as compared to Amir who shows only interest in writing fictional stories.

A celebrated local tournament is held with a legion of children flying kites in attempt to “cut” their competitors’ line. Amir and Hassan enter the tournament and not surprisingly, win. It is custom for the winning team to keep kite of their final opponent and thus creates the term “Kite Runner” for the person having to chase the untethered kite. Hassan, being extremely loyal, offers to chase the Kite for Amir. After congratulations from his father, Amir begins to worry about the still absent Hassan. He sets out looking for him and discovers a scene playing out in a secluded alleyway. Amir hides but watches the unfolding scene. Hassan has found the kite, but is surrounded by three older boys who are the typical bullies. The bullies offer to let Hassan go in return for the captured kite. Hassan, being loyal, refuses to give away the kite saying instead, “This kite belongs to Amir”. For his refusal, Hassan is beaten badly and as a final act of barbarianism, is raped.

Amir, who has witnessed this whole scene, never intervenes and because of his cowardliness, actually runs from the scene. Over the next few weeks, Amir attempts to avoid all contact with Hassan because it is a constant reminder of how gutless he is. As a final extreme method to permanently rid himself of Hassan, Amir plants his expensive pocket watch inside Hassan’s home and then informs his father of the thievery. During the inquest, Hassan actually admits to stealing the watch. Amir displays a look of utter confusion. He cannot believe Hassan is admitting to something he didn’t do. The underlying loyalty issue is obvious considering denying the stealing of the watch would contradict Amir’s statement. Baba however isn’t completely convinced that Hassan actually performed the deed and offers simple forgiveness. Ali states that he and Hassan can no longer stay and they must leave anyway.

They depart and are never seen again. A handful of events happen over the next few years including the Soviet takeover of Afghanistan, Baba and Amir fleeing to Pakistan and eventually the United States, Amir growing up and graduating college, Amir meeting his future wife, and finally the death of his father. In the meantime, Amir has become a writer, despite his father’s frowning upon this, and writes his first novel which is published. During this time, he receives a phone call from Rahim Khan, a friend of his father who he hasn’t heard from in many years. Rahim urgently states that he must come to Pakistan.

The next few obstacles Amir must face all centers around resolving his past and finally proving to himself that he has enough courage to take a stand and actively pursue the right path. The conclusion is cautious about being too joyous, but, never feels threatened by the closure. The viewer must determine how successful Amir is in his personal endeavor to become the man that his father always wanted him to be.

The Kite Runner as a film does a great deal of things right. David Benioff does a tremendous job in adapting the book into a screenplay. Without the close direction of Finding Neverland’s director Marc Forster, many of the scenes would be missing the special “touching” quality I mentioned earlier. His gift lies in the ability to create emotion by what he displays instead of what is heard. This isn’t to say the script is bad by any means, quite the opposite actually. Many quotes resonate long after viewing the film and create a more profound experience. The tagline for instance: “There is a way to be good again” is said during a pivotal scene near the end and is just one example of the great writing.

One of the best qualities of the film is the score. It’s not often that the music of a movie can overshadow the whole production, but here, is comes very close. Alberto Iglesias has a natural talent. He is no stranger to greatness as he has already been nominated for an academy award once with The Constant Gardener and now, a second time, with The Kite Runner.

Part of what makes his scores so great is the incredible contrast between different pieces of the score. Early in the film, during shots of a bazaar, an up tempo Sicilian sounding piece is heard sounding much like walking into The Olive Garden. Later moments in the film, such a one that takes place in a stadium, is very heavy on the guitar while layering on Sergio Leone style beats. Unless your name is Clint Mansell, I rarely find film scores to be very noteworthy, however the one presented here by Iglesias is a class act.

The only thing detracting from this movie may seem minor, but honestly affects the end result. Obviously a vast majority of the people watching this movie will be American, therefore many customs and practices depicted in the film will not make sense. As one of those Americans, I really wish the director would have weaved into the story a few ways to explain these.

The DVD is presented with a paper thin list of extras. You get the typical audio commentary featuring Director Marc Forster, Screenwriter David Benioff, and Author Khaled Hosseini. There is limited material discussed and honestly, it isn’t that interesting. 2 featurettes, Words from the Kite Runner and Images from the Kite Runner are included and a little more informative. “Words” discusses the transition from book into movie and talks about the book in detail. There are interviews with the director and author. “Images” is a standard making of feature and reveals miscellaneous facts about the production. Also included, which don’t really qualify as extras, are the trailers and a special public service announcement by the author of the book. Overall the extras are yawn inducing.

The Kite Runner is a marvelous film and I feel definitely got snubbed at this year’s Oscars. It serves as a testament to human character and how despite being paralyzed by a certain flaw early in life, one can rebound later with a second chance. Do yourself a favor and please watch this movie.

Filmmaking: 8
Sound: 9
Value: 3
Overall: 8.5