Based on the best selling novel by Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner is a story of friendship, betrayal, and the struggle for redemption. Set in Afghanistan prior to the Soviet invasion of 1979 and later in the days of Taliban rule, all of the elements are present for great drama but, under the direction of Marc Forster (Finding Neverland), the film lacks the kind of searing emotional impact that makes for a memorable experience, though it is entertaining, well acted, and occasionally moving.

Set in 1978 in Kabul but filmed in Kashgar, China because of the dangers in Afghanistan, the friendship that opens the film between two young boys is very real, though they are miles apart in social and economic circumstances. 12-year-old Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) lives in posh surroundings with his wealthy and educated father Baba, played by the great Homayoun Ershadi, although his wealth seems a bit incongruous in one of the poorest countries in the world. Though Baba is a loving father, he confesses to Rahim Khan (Shaun Toub), his friend and business associate, that Amir is too soft and that there is "something missing with that boy". The family has a servant, Ali (Nabi Tanha) who dotes on his every need and whose son Hassan (Ahmed Khan Mahmoodzada) is Amir's best friend.

The two are separated not only by class but also by ethnicity. Amir, a burgeoning writer, is a member of the Pashtun majority while Hassan is a Hazara, a minority sect (10% of the population). Though we learn little about their traditions or social situation, they are bound together by their love of kite flying, a popular sport in Kabul and by Amir's reading Afghan folk stories to Hassan who is illiterate. The annual kite-flying competition to the boys is a big event in their lives and the CGI effects are breathtaking. The kite strings are covered with glass particles and the winner is the one whose kite string can cut down the other kites in the sky. Hassan is the kite runner who has an uncanny ability to locate the fallen kites and bring them to Amir as a trophy. After Amir wins the important contest, however, a sad event occurs that will shape the rest of his life.

Bullies, led by the older Assef (Elham Ehsas) who later appears as a ruthless Taliban leader, attack Hassan because he is a Hazara and brutally rape him (off camera) while Amir is too frightened to try and prevent it. Unable to confront his perceived lack of courage (though one must wonder what if anything he could have done to help Hassan), guilt becomes the driving force in his relationship with Hassan and their friendship becomes strained. In one incident, Amir throws pomegranates at Hassan as if begging him to fight back and punish him for his passivity but Hassan doesn't take the bait, continuing to be loyal in spite of his friend's cowardice. When Amir urges his father to dismiss the servants and accuses Hassan of stealing his watch, Hassan admits to the theft even though he is innocent. Eventually, circumstances force Ali and Hassan to leave out of shame. When the Russians invade Afghanistan, Baba and Amir also leave, fleeing to Pakistan and then to Fremont, California where the story picks up years later.

Baba is forced to work at a gas station and to sell trinkets at an open-air market while Amir (Abdul Salam Yusoufzai), seemingly going through the motions of living, studies to become a writer at the local community college. After he falls in love and marries Soraya (Atossa Leoni), the daughter of a Kabul general, Amir finally publishes his first novel, A Season of Ashes and things look very positive. When Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan asking him to visit him in Pakistan telling him "there is a way to be good again", the specter of guilt that has haunted him all of his life beckons Amir to go home. He returns to Pakistan and, with great risk, goes back to an Afghanistan now controlled by the Taliban to confront the demons of his past and to discover a startling secret in the process.

The Kite Runner is a sensitive film that deals with the internal pain that comes from knowing that you were not true to your best instincts and allows for the possibility of moving beyond shame to a new level of responsibility. It also does not hide the pain caused to Afghanistan by wars and revolution, a pain that is perhaps represented by the suffering Hassan. Unfortunately, it reduces complex situations to the level of good guys and villains and distorts what actually happened, exonerating the U.S., who engaged in anti-government covert operations within the country, from any responsibility for the disastrous war that left over one million dead and millions more disabled. Though we are inspired by the outstanding child actors and moved by the freedom that kite flying represents, The Kite Runner relinquishes its power when it attempts to substitute melodrama for history.

Sentiment: positive