The Kite Runner
Lissa Coffey
Grade: A-
| Marc Forster directs “The Kite Runner” based on the bestselling book by Khaled Hosseini. I haven’t read the book, so I can’t compare the two, but the movie is really moving, intense, and beautiful. It takes place in the present day, flashing back to 1980’s Afghanistan, when the Russians invade. The emphasis is on the relationship between two young boys, Amir and Hassan, and how the events affect the two of them and their families. Amir escapes with his father and ends up in the United States, where he must integrate into western culture and still respect and preserve his roots. He meets a young woman in the same position, and they marry. Yet, his past haunts him, and he ends up returning to Kabul to try to make things right.
The writing is very well done. The acting is first rate. It’s the emotions that make this movie as good as it is. Some violence, as this is set in war time – but definitely a movie that teens can see, and learn from. |