Les Cerfs-volants de Kaboul

After seeing the prosthetic legs dropping from the sky by parachute in Kandahar (2001), one of the most memorable images in all of cinema, I wondered why there weren't more stories coming out of such a tumultuous country, tied to Americans forever by 9/11. And now I think I know why.

Such a beautifully-wrought adaptation of the wildly-popular novel of the same name, The Kite Runner is a model of fine film-making in almost all respects except one: It's too pat. So maybe Charlie Wilson's War will show me that films about Afghanistan will not revolve around formulae and clichés.

The redemption of the protagonist, Amir (Khalid Abdalla), has been told forever in literature and film, just not in Afghanistan. So no matter how tear-jerking the film may be, it is still a story told many times of a man who commits an egregious sin as a child but redeems himself in the end with an act of courage. Meanwhile, director Marc Forster and screenwriter David Beniof lace the film with the major motif, kite running, to such an ingenious extent that it not only ties in the hero's youth with his maturity, it also provides a figurative way of showing the desolation and hope of the country mixed of course with contradictory elements such as cutting string and blessed artificial legs.

Thus the film as metaphor is a success in showing the dismal past of a struggling country and its hopeful future. The cinematic images also emphasize this duality: The vistas with snow capped mountains and endless plains deflect the vision of a barren land where trees that manage to grow have been cut down by invaders, in this case 1979 Russia. The titular activity flourishes in large part because the arid, stony land offers few other possibilities. When the land is revisited in 2000, the limited country seems almost completely bereft of color and resources, a gray prison that parades adulterers to be stoned in the soccer stadium and little boys abused by an out-of-control Taliban.

But true to the formula, Amir has a second chance. I hope Afghanistan shares a similar fate.

The Kite Runner was beautiful, poignant and very moving. I particularly loved the two child actors in the film as well as the actor portraying the father. It really made me want to go back and read the book again.

The music was a wonderful part of the fabric of the movie. If there is a soundtrack coming out for the film, I will buy it to accompany my second reading of the book. It is also a visually stunning film. The cinematography was gorgeous and really added to experience.

The Brazilian word 'saudades' is very descriptive of how I felt at the end of the film..."it is a deep feeling of longing for someone or someplace, which is very sweet but also tinged with an inescapable sadness" (definition provided years ago by Antonio Carlos Jobim).

Saw it at a small cinema here for an advance screening. I would love to see it again on a really large screen with a tricked out sound system.

Can't wait for the formal release. I will definitely recommend the film to friends.

I have read both the book and saw the movie today. The storyline is so powerful that almost any script or screenplay would have done justice to it. So nothing much there. However, this is still a beautiful movie because it makes one think and feel, just like the book. Watching it is not like watching a documentary on a failed state and feeling sympathetic towards people suffering under an oppressive regime, but is like watching any other common man's story unfold, across generations, across continents. Amir's cowardice, his guilt, his dilemmas and finally his choosing a way of redemption could have been a story of any of us. There isn't a single infallible character to look up to and idolize but all of them are gray, just like all of us.

Another important observation is that the movie does a great job of chronicling the lives of Afghans through the twenty some years of turbulent political scenarios. The vibrant, care-free childhood represents Kabul before the Russian invasion and the desolate, shattered remains of the city echo what the Taliban has done to it.

The child actors deserve 'thumbs up' all the way. They can put any matured actor to shame.

If you have not yet seen the movie or read the book, just walk into the theater keeping in mind that you are going to witness a multi-layered story woven on a multi-colored fabric of human emotions and sentiments. This movie is not meant to stir anti-Soviet and anti-Taliban feelings but to feel the trials of human existence.

I read some of the external reviews linked to the site and I must confess I do not see the point in writing reviews that summarize the storyline like a distant spectator and point out technical details about amazing cinematography or something similar. At least for this movie, one should try to connect to it rather than judging it objectively.

"The Kite Runner" is one of the most controversial films of the year, and it's not just one of those controversies invented by PR people to sell tickets. No, this is a film that was actually pulled from release because the producers began to fear for their safety of their actors. That may give you an idea of just how sensitive and topical some of the material is. "The Kite Runner" is an important film for our modern world, because now more than ever, we need stories that show the reality of war, not just action movies that glamorize the violence. It was adapted from the best-selling book, and some critics have charged that something was lost in translation, but if you don't bring the baggage of the novel into the screening, you will be very moved.

I just watched this film at an advanced screening. I had not read the book, and knew nothing of the story, but went because the book was voted "Book of the Year" by two local colleges. So I cannot compare the book with the movie as others have done.

In short, I thought this was an incredibly moving story. The acting was believable, and the insight into Afghan culture and political history was both interesting and shocking. My oldest friend is Iranian-American, and so I felt an affinity for certain Middle Eastern values and traditions that were portrayed in the movie, as they reminded me of the times I spent with his family.

The themes of friendship, family, human values, and courage under fire are universal, and are well developed in the film. I won't list the plot details, as these can be obtained elsewhere. But based on the film's technical aspects, the acting, and, above all, its heart-wrenching story, I would definitely recommend this movie.