Saturday, November 1, 2008

Kite Runner: A Movie Review


"For you, a thousand times over", the protagonist says, as he promises his nephew to run a kite for him, as the credits roll. The movie leaves you wondering how the lives, of the family depicted in it, turns out as time goes. I believe that the movie is a very faithful adaptation of The Kite Runner, a novel that I loved when I read it. The novel follows the life of Amir, as he grows up in Afghanistan, then when he moves to the USA and finally when he returns to his place of birth because, as his uncle Rahim Khan puts it, "there is a way to be good again."
That the story is good comes as a no brainer, what with the success of the original novel. The settings of the story is as good as the characters that come in it. The main characters, the towering Pashthun father, Baba, the ever faithful Hassan and the writer who seeks redemption, Amir - are very well developed and have a lot of depth. The minor characters are also developed well enough for them to stay in your mind long after the movie is over. The story starts in the, pre-Taliban Afghan and as the story progresses, one cannot but feel sorry for the sad state of the once beautiful Afghan. The casting of the movie is near perfect, as all the actors, especially the two children who took on the roles of Amir and Hassan, have done a fantastic job of handling their characters.
But the two things that make the movie so perfect are the cinematography and the music. First the cinematography by Roberto Schaefer: throughout the movie you can feel the mood of the movie being complimented by the colours and the camera. The pristine mountains of Afghan, the pomegranate tree, the dog resting in the shade, all add to a breathtakingly beautiful setting. And not to forget the excellent graphics used to depict the kite flying competition - just amazing! The movie would have been very bland without an excellent background score by Alberto Iglesias. Although it might not be to everyone's taste, the music does a very good job of giving a good setting for the movie. Also there are a few tracks which can be listened to alone. My favorite pick is "Fly a Kite" which gives me a wonderful sense of peace whenever I listen to it. Anybody who loves Indian fusion music will love this track.
This movie gets you thinking and I think many of you would love it too.