worth considering Watching this film was a rather jarring experience. Having watched it several days ago I find that I am still affected by it, enough to google it, its author, enough to come here and read reviews of it - as if to gain some sort of comfort by gathering amongst other people who have shared in the same viewing experience.
I'm pretty disappointed in the bad reviews (here) of this movie. Yes, it is largely subtitled. I understand that some people don't like subtitles, okay. I honestly don't know if that's a fair summation of the movie as a whole, but everyone is entitled to their opinion & I'm sure there are plenty of people keen on passing up a movie they'd have to read.
There is also the matter of the child-rape scene which is mentioned on the dvd case as well as in the opening film rating. The scene itself is non-explicit, but the viewer is clearly aware of what is happening and it is genuinely disturbing. Whether or not such imagery belongs in popular cinema is not something I care to debate here, however in this case it is a pivotal point in the film. I suppose it could have been handled differently, but again I am not willing to debate an artist's vision and how he chose to portray these events. In short, like the subtitle issue, I would not dismiss this film based on this scene.
In fact, I would have to argue that the scene contributes more than it detracts, and not just for shock-value. After the attack the victim still has to deal with perpetrator; at one point he is required to serve him tea. It's heartbreaking, and reinforces the point that the victim is considered less than human based on his ethnicity alone.
As for the movie as a whole - this is not cinematography at its finest. It may not have been one of the best movies I've seen this year, but it certainly has been one of the most evocative and thought-provoking. I think this is an average movie that tells an extraordinary story, formulaic and melodramatic as it is at times. Much of this movie plays out like an afterschool special - except that it's interspersed with a few moments of absolute horror.
The Kite-Runner isn't a coming-of-age or buddy movie. It's a deeply sad story about a beautiful country that has been torn apart by forces inside and out, and what happens to people when they are either forced to leave or forced to stay behind. If you're curious enough about this movie to read my simplistic review, I can recommend it purely on the basis that it may put a human face yet another country that isn't given too much consideration by the western world.
Beautiful... This is a must see movie. It was absolutely beautiful, as beautiful as the book. It touched my heart like no movie has in a very long time. I recommend it for everyone. You laugh, you cry and you feel for the characters. I also learned much about the Afghan culture, which I must admit really did not know very much about. It has changed my view of the Afghan people. It makes you value true love and friendship and how timeless the human connection is. Both the book and movie will stay in your memory and your heart for a very long time. Wonderful.
A Disappointment I absolutley loved the book, but the movie literally SUCKED. Totally did not do the book justice. Please read the book...screw the movie!
Just a moving as the book! I have to admit that I am not usually a fan of movies that are based on books. Something about the adaptations usually doesn't fit. But-this movie was an exception. It was beautiful and powerful. Of course it is impossible to include every detail from a book when it is adapted to a screenplay, but the writers, producers, actors, etc where amazing!
I have read other reviews and some people where torn on whether the use o Afghan languages with subtitles in the film added to the "realness" of the story. My own opinion--the languages where beautiful to listen to, and the subtitles did not take away from the movie.
Everything about it was very well done. The boys that where chosen to potray Amir and Hassan are brillant young actors, as well as "grown up" Amir. Baba was amazing as well.
There is some violence and one scene in particular that was very hard to watch, but overall, very well done. An amazing adaptation.
Uplifting but formulaic "Kite Runner" has "First Novel" written all over it. Its depiction of 1970s Afghanistan is interesting, but its hackneyed and heavy-handed plot points of boyish antics, fathers, bullies, sexual assault, betrayal, ethnic prejudice and civil war seems too calculating by half, as if designed for the sole purpose of including all the requisite ingredients for one of the middlebrow choices of Oprah's Book of the Month Club. It's an uplifting story, and with fairly likeable characters, but there's just something about this story that was too predictable, amateurish and unsatisfying.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
