Marc Forester, director of “Finding Neverland”, is the one
that brought this year to the big screen Khaled Hosseini's 2003 best-seller “The
Kite Runner,” making, what most of critics are saying, an emotional tale about
friendship, mistakes and redeeming love.
Set in Afghanistan,
the plot evolves around two main characters, in Kabul, before and after the Soviet invasion.
The two main characters are two boys, Amir, 11, the son of a
businessman, and Hassan, 13, the servant’s child.
The movie opens with a brief sequence in modern-day California; afterwards it shifts in time, to the 1970s,
in Kabul where
Amir lives with his father Baba in a beautiful home in the outskirts of the
city.
His best friend is Hassan, the servant’s son and is from the
Hazari tribe, which is a stigmatized tribe. The two are always bullied by the
children from the Pashtun sect, which Amir belongs to.
The two boys spend time together flying kites and taking
part in the Kabul’s
kite tournaments growing, apparently, a strong friendship that will be put to
the test. Hassan even says to Amir at one point that “I'd rather eat dirt than
lie to you,” expressing his devotion towards his friend.
Although the two boys are linked by a special friendship,
they never drop their roles of master and servant.
Movie Type: Drama and Adaptation
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong thematic material including the rape of a child, violence and brief strong language.
Running Time: 2 hrs. 2 min.
Directed By: Marc Forster
Cast: Shaun Toub, Khalid Abdalla, Nasser Memarzia, Said Taghmaoui, Atossa Leoni
Released: December 14th, 2007 (limited)
U.S. Box Office: $8,669,803
