Of friendship and atonement

I think we are all in agreement that generally, movies based on books don’t do justice to the literary version. Of course, there are some rare exceptions but they are far and few in between. However, this is not to say that one can’t have a very good movie experience watching one that is based on a book. Such was the case for the Kite Runner.
Based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini, the Kite Runner is the story of two boys growing up in pre-invasion Afghanistan. Amir is the well born son of an Afghani business man who loves him but is emotionally distant. His best friend is Hassan, the son of Ali, the family’s loyal servant. While Hassan loves Amir unreservedly, Amir is torn between his friendship for Hassan and his jealousy over his father’s affection for the latter. Life is simple and idyll with the high point being the annual Kite flying contest. But it is on this day that an act of evil taints the boy’s friendship forever. As Amir struggles with his guilt and Hassan and his father leave their home, Afghanistan is invaded by the Russians. Amir and his father are forced to flee till they end up in America to start afresh. It isn’t only until many many years later that Amir is able to lay to rest and atone for the guilt that’s beset him since that fateful day of the Kite contest.
The movie certainly does a good job of transforming the book into a visual one that is accessible to everyone, even those who haven’t read the book. And while it is inevitable that comparisons will be made, the movie can certainly hold its own as a well made and affecting one. Both the director Marc Foster and screenwriter David Beniof, tried their best to deliver the emotional force of the book and in this respect they are greatly aided by the performances of the child actors. Perhaps because they are non-professionals, the two boys who portray Amir and Hassan give genuinely touching performances. Unequivocally, the most moving parts of the film are those depicting their friendship and adventures. It is hard not to feel a lump in the throat when you see them seated under the branches of a tree, one reading to the quietly listening other. The movie is also interesting for its depiction of Kabul before the devastation of the invasion and the subsequent rule of the Taliban. Despite being mostly shot in China, it succeeds in giving a wholly convincing picture of Kabuli life as it was with picturesque scenes of the street markets and of course the kite flying which forms such an integral part of the story. And the movie's cinematography showing the stark natural beauty of the land makes the brutality suffered by the people even more horrific. The movie starts and ends with the reminder and call that “there is a way to do good” and finally, it is this message which resonates within long after we’ve left the theater.