Last night, I got to watch ‘The Kite Runner‘, the movie adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s marvelous novel, directed by Marc Forster.
‘The Kite Runner’ follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir’s father’s servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted.
Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule.
This is one of the best movie adaptations of a book that I have ever seen, really well done, very nice directing, great acting, very good casting, beautiful soundtrack; everything is really well done.
The book is still even richer and better, of course, and there are bits I think should have been in the movie that aren’t, but overall, a very successful adaptation, and a great movie, truly worth watching.
I totally recommend reading the book and watching the movie; both great works of art, very touching and unforgettable.
You can check my review of the book here.
I’ve read the book, and I thought that it was a nice read.
I’m usually a bit disappointed when I see a movie of a book that I read. While reading, usually I have my own interpretations, and I picture things in my brain in a certain way (that has nothing to do with the actual movie when it comes). Don’t you have the same problem?
Yes, I have the same problem, and it’s often disappointing to see a movie adaptation of a great book. But in this case, even though the book remains better and richer, they did a great job with the movie, matching a lot of the things the way I imagined them and pictured them.
Btw, having lived in Pakistan for some time and visited Peshawar on the Afghani borders, I had a clearer picture of the backdrop of the events of the story, the culture and all when I read the book; and the movie captured a lot of it.
I really think it’s worth watching as a movie, I think it’s a better adaptation than ‘Atonement’ which I reviewed some days ago.