The Kite Runner (12A)

Film

Drama

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Zekeria Ebrahimi and Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada in The Kite Runner

Time Out rating:

<strong>Rating: </strong>4/5

User ratings:

<strong>Rating: </strong>4/5
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Time Out says

Mon Dec 17 2007

Adapted from the best-selling novel by Afghan-born American writer Khaled Hosseini, this accessible, deftly-directed and moving tale of childhood regret and adult atonement courses through three decades of war-torn Afghan history in personal terms. In 1978, preceding the Soviet invasion, privileged seven-year-old Kabul boy Amir (Zekeria Ebrahmi) witnesses the rape of his friend and fellow kite-flyer, lower-class Hazara servant Hassan (the expressive and contained Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) by the malevolent Assef. Confused and angered by his own powerlessness, guilt, and shame, Amir frames his erstwhile companion for theft and is further admonished by the morally pure, loyal and self-abnegating behaviour of his victim, something that troubles the aspirant-writer Amir through his 20-odd years of exile in the US. In the present, a visit to Pakistan to see his dead father’s dying friend, offers news of Hassan’s fate, and prompts the older, now-married Amir (Khalid Abdalla) to a dangerous visit to his now Taliban-controlled home.

Notwithstanding the inevitable tendency of individual stories set against momentous national upheavals to conflate and simplify historical events, Marc ‘Finding Neverland’ Forster’s film achieves minor miracles within the bounds of his broadly conventional narrative. His sober approach allows a surprising level of complexity in his film’s wider interest in themes of guilt, displacement, honour and conflicting traditions, while his sensitivity to the emotional responses of his characters – both adult and child – is never overwhelmed nor upstaged by his incorporation of challenging dramatic scenes (such as a startlingly brutal stoning of an adulterous couple in a Kabul stadium). Likewise, the film’s belief in the power of redemption and its subtle assertion of the need for moral courage in personal (or political) conflict, is never allowed to get in the way of its boldly told, intelligent, informed and affecting story.

Author: Wally Hammond

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Comments & ratings

Rated as: 4/5 (48 ratings)

  • Not a great movie, but at least deals effectively with themes of loyalty and revenge, which is more than most Hollywood films do.

    John Sun Jan 13
    Rated as: 3/5
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  • This is a reallllllllyyyyyyyyy guD film its so sad Nd intresting nd tnx 4 helpin wid homeWorKkkkkk!!!!!!!!!*

    IaMmE Tue Nov 20 2012
    Rated as: 4/5
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  • RAPE SCENE IS BEST, HASSAN GOT GAPED

    rapeiscool532 Mon Sep 24 2012
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • this website sucks dick

    Trackington Mon Sep 24 2012
    Rated as: 1/5
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  • reasonably a good story. but i feel pity on Hussan character because he was an honest servant.

    mala Mon Feb 27 2012
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  • to be honest, if i watched the movie first, i would have completely lost my interest in book. The movie was just alright. they cud have done better, it was really disappointing and i felt that the director and producers have put very little effort. Even the characters, except for the two young amir and hassen, most of the important characters were not good. I had a feeling that this movie spoilt the book

    sangay Tue Feb 7 2012
    Rated as: 3/5
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  • Thanks for giving me answers for my homework!!! lool idiots.

    I Mon Nov 21 2011
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • brill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    lollypop Thu Nov 3 2011
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • In contrast to the book this film was appalling. Its such a shame as this is probably one of the most beautiful and moving stories you could come across. The producers have not put any thought in how to get the depth from book and portray this onto the big screen. At times I felt that if I hadn't read the book, I would have not realised the significance of certain parts of the film. Personally I believe that if the film focused more on Amir's adult life and brought his childhood in as flashback at the right moments they could have done the book much more justice. The film makers have also left out some of the most vital parts of the book such as Hassan's harelip and the boys attempt at suicide. Some of the characters also failed to live up to my imagination i.e. Asef in his childhood. All in all I would rate this film no more than 4/10 and even then I'm probably being bias as this truly a remarkable story. READ THE BOOK!

    gary Mon Mar 7 2011
    Rated as: 2/5
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  • this film did not have the depth in it that the book did that made you fell great empethy for the characters involved, some of the characters could have been a little better casted as they did represent the characters within the novel by hosseini and the film did not fully portray the full meaning of the words that were being spoken. as a whole the film was well directed without any influance from the novel but the film was deprived from the novel so should have shown more detail in the crucail parts in the plot. maybe it should have been a 15 and included more of the horrific happenings to amir and sohrab it should also have shown more of the ending of the book as there are some crucial elements of the plot that there needed to be. they should have also included hassans hairlip and when amir needed to go to hospital, he should aslo have been shown with a hair lip from his fight with assef as this i a crucial benifactor of the final chapters with in the novel and should also have been shown in the film :)

    student Wed Dec 15 2010
    Rated as: 5/5
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