Movie Review The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner (2007) 

Directed by Marc Forster 

Written by David Benioff 

Starring Khallid Abdalla, Zekaria Ebrahimi 

Release Date December 14th, 2007 

Published December 13th, 2007 

Marc Forster is an auteur of the highest order. His debut film, Monster's Ball, crafted astonishing art out of some of the grimiest, grittiest, settings, the deathly, colorless halls of a prison and the desperate, depressing decorations of the lowest wrung of the economic ladder. Halle Berry at her most naked didn't hurt but beyond that artifice lay characters of great depth, feeling and sadness. He followed that stunning feature debut with something entirely different, the gentle, imaginative life story of J.M Barrie in Finding Neverland. That film earned him a Best Director and Best Picture nomination. Forster then offered yet another dizzying 180, following his Oscar nominated work with a turn to the sci fi genre, a mystery called Stay.

Somehow critics missed the subtle brilliance of Stay, a thoughtful, ingenious genre pic. The failure of Stay thankfully didn't slow Forster for a moment and he was back on ten best lists across the country the next year with the imaginative and quirk filled romance, Stranger Than Fiction. And once again Forster has pulled one of his masterful 180's. His newest effort is arguably his most ambitious yet. Leaving behind many of the trappings of Hollywood, he's kept the budget, but Forster has moved to the Middle East to craft a story in Arabic based on a best selling novel. So, not an easy box office sell. 

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini's stunning tale of life before and after the Taliban in Afghanistan was long sought after but thought to be un-filmable. Many filmmakers could see the potential of this story about the bond of children, the love of family and country, and the many inherent tragedies of the Middle East. However, they could also see that trying to make a movie entirely in Arabic in Arab countries with Hollywood dollars would be nearly impossible. Thankfully, Marc Forster was undaunted and now we have The Kite Runner, a subtle, thoughtful, and thoroughly absorbing tale that once again affirms Marc Forster's place among our finest filmmakers.

It seems like ancient history. Before the Russians invaded Afghanistan there was the beginning of a revolution. A revolution of freedom, democracy and most hopefully, peace. In this pre-Russia, pre-Taliban environment, we meet Amir and Hassan. Though Hassan is technically a servant in Amir's father's home, the two young boys are equal in love and friendship, the kind of close bond that only young children can have. Together they fly kites, see movies and tell stories. Unfortunately for young Amir he is something of a coward and relies entirely on Hassan for protection.

So, when Hassan is attacked by bullies and humiliated in a devastating fashion, Amir witnesses but does nothing. His shame unbearable, Amir ends their friendship just before the Russians arrive to end it permanently. Chased from the country by the Russians, Amir's father takes him to America and he goes on to become a successful writer. It is then that another secret is revealed, one that will rekindle the bond between Amir and Hassan and return Amir to an Afghanistan that is a far different place than of his youth.

Told with soft, precise movements, audiences will be forgiven for calling The Kite Runner slow though I prefer to call it deliberate. It's a far cry from Forster's other impressive works which were far less understated than The Kite Runner a work of a much more quiet and thoughtful genius. The Kite Runner is Forster's first stab at real film-making maturity. Removing the tricky elements of his earlier works, the sex of Monster's Ball, the flights of dreamlike fantasy in Finding Neverland or the twisting logic of Stay, the physics of Stranger Than Fiction, Forster settles in for a quiet bit of storytelling in The Kite Runner and shows himself a master of that as well.

Told almost entirely in Arabic with Arab actors in all of the lead roles and not a recognizable American face in the bunch, The Kite Runner is in so many ways brave and bold. What a shock it is that a Hollywood studio, Dreamworks/Universal, actually got behind it. They did and we are the beneficiaries of their faith that Marc Forster could tell this foreign story in such a universal fashion. Shocking moments of violence occasionally break the calm of The Kite Runner but they are merely a small part of the subtle, human tapestry of this exceptionally well told tale which teaches far more with gentility than with the force of shocking violence. 

A remarkable work by a remarkable filmmaker, The Kite Runner is a beautifully compelling film experience. By the way, in case you are wondering what Marc Forster has up his sleeve next? In another wild career twist, he is hard at work on the next James Bond movie.