Hazara Nation

3,28, 2008
Julie Crawford
Surrey Now

The Kite Runner

Directed by Marc Forster. Starring Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi, Zekeria Ebrahimi, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada and Shaun Toub
8 (out of 10)
What most of us know about Afghanistan has been culled from grim, minute-long sound bytes from TV news. Of course, a book and a movie can't claim to give a complete picture either, but Marc Forster's The Kite Runner, based on Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel, does widen our view of the country.

The book is about human capacity for shocking violence, loyalty and forgiveness. Forester (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) remains faithful to its themes, and pushed for the decision to have the actors speak in their native tongues.

It's the 1970s in Kabul and young Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) lives in luxury with his widower father (Iran's Homayoun Ershadi). Amir's best friend is Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada), the servant's son. Amir is a Pashtun but Hassan is a Hazara, which means that they are friends but they are not equals.

This inequality results in a dramatic act of violence, which breaks the boys' friendship forever. The Soviet invasion of 1979 hastens their separation, and guarantees the two lose touch for good.

Flash forward to 2000 where a grown Amir (United 93's Khalid Abdalla) gets a call from his father's close friend Rahim Khan (Shaun Toub), who insists Amir must return to Afghanistan, saying: "There is a way to be good again."

Amir returns to a brutal Afghanistan he doesn't recognize: even kite-flying, the boyhood pastime of Hassan and Amir, has been banned by the Taliban.

Fine performances by actors young and old result in a powerful emotional connection to the film, and Forster does an excellent job of creating an authentic sense of time and place. It's a moving rendering of Hosseini's work.

Special features include a commentary with the director, writer Khaled Hosseini and producer David Benioff. A Words From The Kite Runner segment features a discussion with the author, and what made the practising physician turn to writing full-time. The Images From The Kite Runner featurette focuses on the complex shooting and casting processes, and we learn of the struggles Marc Forster had in trying to make the film as authentic an experience as possible.