Time: the present. Scene: Fremont, California. As The Kite Runner opens, we meet Amir, a young Afghan man who appears to have everything going for him. He has recently married a beautiful and wonderful wife. He has just had his first novel published. All seems well, but it isn’t, really.
Flashback. Time: 1978. Scene: Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir is a boy playing with Hassan, the son of his father’s household servant. The Taliban are about to take control of Afghanistan. Though Amir and Hassan are from different social classes and ethnic groups, they are inseparable friends. Amir is the son of a prominent, well-to-do diplomat who loves his bookish, somewhat timid son but wishes he were more like the courageous Hassan. Hassan is devoted to Amir, telling him that he would even eat dirt for him if necessary. Among other things, the two boys love to fly kites, and they soon win a kite-flying contest. However, the victory does not sit well with some older boys, who find Hassan alone and assault him sexually. Amir arrives in time to witness the assault but does nothing to stop it; in fact, he does not even make his presence known. After that, the quality of the boys’ relationship goes slowly but steadily downhill. Ashamed of his cowardice, Amir somehow manages in his own mind to demonize Hassan and accuses him of stealing his watch. Hassan is innocent but admits to the crime. Soon Hassan and his father are forced to leave the employ of Baba, Amir’s father. When the Taliban take control of Afghanistan, Baba and Amir are forced to flee the country, eventually winding up in California, where they begin a new life.
Flash forward to the present: Amir looks happy on the surface, but he has never come to terms with his betrayal of Hassan. Not coincidentally, he receives a call from an old family friend who tells him of the situation back in Afghanistan and gives Amir a letter written some time ago by the saintly Hassan, who never gave up hope that he and Amir would reconcile. Now convicted, Amir realizes he must go back to Afghanistan and attempt to rescue Hassan’s son from the Taliban. I won’t reveal any more of the action or surprising plot twists here, but let me just tell you that you’re in for a roller coaster ride if you see this picture.
The Kite Runner, based on Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling 2003 novel, is a gem – one of the most emotionally affecting movies in some time. It’s about friendship, loyalty, forgiveness, atonement, redemption – and in some hard-to-fathom way it transcends the Christian / Muslim divide. Fortunately, it has no Hollywood production values to interfere with its message. At times The Kite Runner is hard to watch, though, and I wouldn’t recommend it for children or younger teenagers.
Film Rating: PG-13
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