(Phil Bray, Paramount)
Rated PG-13
3 Stars Out of 4
Kites soar in aerial combat with elegant artistry in Marc Forster’s adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Breathtaking shots of the kites in flight bring joy to the most bitter of cynics.
The movie jumps from San Francisco in 2000 to Kabul in 1978 where two young boys, Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) and his best friend and servant Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) share a pure friendship filled with joy. Unfortunately, their innocence is shattered on the afternoon of Amir’s greatest childhood triumph when he witnesses Hassan suffer a horrific trauma. Ashamed by his own cowardice, Amir disgustingly connives to have Hassan and his father sent away only to be soon chased out of the country himself by the Russian presence in Afghanistan.
Homeless, Amir’s proud father Baba (Homayoun Ershadi) sacrifices everything to get himself and his son to America where Amir (played as an adult by Khalid Abdalla) becomes a college graduate. Disappointed by his son’s decision to become a writer and not a doctor, Baba always strives to support his son and even helps him win the hand of his wife Soraya (Atossa Leoni). The midsection of the movie unfolds with some surprising nuance. Namely the stellar acting of Homayoun Ershadi who’s portrayal of the once tall, intellectual professional man condemned to be a mere gas station attendant and then a sickly, aging husk leaves lesser actors in the dust.
After much success in his career, Amir suddenly gets a call that brings him back to Pakistan to visit his father’s once closest friend and then to his homeland to recapture his soul. Amir’s guilt over his betrayal all those years ago is ever present on his face and as frightened as he is of the Taliban, he finally learns the determination to be a man and persevere.