The Kite Runner (2007)
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The Kite Runner Movie Review
The Kite Runner is a 2007 drama film directed by Marc Forster and starring Khalid Abdalla. This is a very solid adaptation.
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“Fuck the Russia!“
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This is an American movie that adapted the titular novel by Khaled Hosseini that was first published only four years prior. Reading the book, I could imagine it on the big screen as it’s moving and epic in scope. And the movie that we got is still pretty good, though it could have been greater overall.
The plot is mostly mostly faithful to the source material. Interestingly enough, the one questionable sequence from the original novel was much more believable and better in the movie. That is the scene that is the fight between Assef and Amir. Everything else was pretty much retained from the novel, though the omission of immigration scenes negatively impacted the second half that felt quite rushed as a result.
This film depicts the history of Afghanistan through an intimate lens and it does that very effectively. The narration is discarded here in favor of a more streamlined movie narrative and that was a strong idea, though it robbed the movie of some of the book’s raw emotional power. It’s still a moving flick, but one that was never as impactful as the original work was.
The highlight here is the acting. Yes, not that many real Afghan actors or people from that region were cast, but still the casting was terrific as everybody looked and acted the part. The standout is Khalid Abdalla in the role of Amir. He made the protagonist very believable and interesting. Homayoun Ershadi is also a commendable Baba and the relationship between the two is very well explored.
Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada delivered a stupendous child performance. His Hassan is not only effective, but pretty much as I imagined him to look and act like from the novel itself. The acting is truly wonderful in this movie that also benefitted from solid directing from Marc Forster, though not greatly artistic one. A more daring filmmaker would have done something more intriguing with this work.
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The cinematography is fantastic, the production design is strong and the movie is very well scored by the great Alberto Iglesias. His work on this movie is so eclectic, fittingly Arabic and unique that he was rightfully nominated for an Oscar. The Kite Runner is also very well adapted and pretty engaging in pacing and structure. The beginning being the ending was a solid choice that worked for the film adaptation, but I would have personally made the movie much longer, much more epic in scope and more of an intimate yet grandiose spectacle. It should have been elevated more in technicalities.
The Kite Runner is a solid adaptation of the great titular novel that was mostly faithful in screenplay and phenomenally cast. The acting performances are fantastic and the characterization quite strong. The movie is also well shot, but particularly well scored by Alberto Iglesias who was rightfully Oscar-nominated for his work here. The movie is an engaging, well made and worthy adaptation, but one that was hampered by pacing issues, some frustrating plot omissions in the third act and an unwillingness to go fully into the moving and epic territory with its scope.
My Rating – 4
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