Review of The Kite Runner (2007) by Dawn S — 13 Sep 2009

Not quite a classic, as there are too many contrived elements, but nonetheless an insightful and often powerful film that lets us inside a land and culture that are very foreign to westerners.

While we can revel in the differences, there is an undercurrent that yes, we are all human and suffer from the same tragic flaws, while all the while holding out hope for redemption.

Jelousy - you got it in spades as the young boy here's his father telling his uncle that the younger servent boy is the kind of charactor he wishes his son was. That overhearing leads to a cascade effect wherein the boy ends up falsely accusing the servent of stealing. When confronted, the servent glances at his "friend", who can only look down and then away. Thinking that the boy will get in trouble with his father, the servent takes the fall, a selfless act of total friendship that the boy fails to comprehend until years older. by then, history and time have removed the servent from the picture, until, while living in exile in San Francisco, the main charactor is then called back to Afghanistan where secrets are revealed that lead him to make ammends for his past.

There is a very strong undercurrent of bigotry in this film, as well as an adherence to a class system that exists even while in exile. It is painful to watch those who now have a leveled playing field, still cow towing to "superiors" who are equally as destitute. But to do otherwise would turn their beliefs inside out, furthering their feelings of displacement.

An interesting side note: back in the 70's (when much of this film took place), I spent a glorious season as a kite fighter - something that I thought was unique to my group of friends, as I had never seen it done by anyone else until this film.