The Kite Runner

Chances are you've heard about this movie and how great it is. Maybe you saw it and loved it, or really wanted to see it and never got around to it. I was with that second group until today, and now I'm part of that first group. There might be a third group of people who didn't like it, but I can't see why unless they just didn't get it.

The Gist Of The Movie:
This movie starts with an author getting his first shipment of books. Excitement turns to dismay when he recieves a phone call from an old friend in Pakistan. We are then transported back in time to where the story really begins, when the author, Amir, was a young boy living in Kabul, Afghanistan with his father and their two servants. One of the servants, Hassan, is a boy his own age and his best friend. We see the boys carve their names into a tree, go see their favorite action movie, read their favorite stories, work as a team to win the annual tournament in kite flying, and all the things kids do while they're still just kids. However, when Amir witnesses a terrible act of cruelty committed against Hassan he does nothing to help, and even seems to punish his friend afterward for what he saw. Eventually, Hassan and his father resign as servants to the family and leave, soon after which the Soviets invade Afghanistan forcing Amir and his father out as well. They make their way to California where they start a life, Amir graduates from college, becomes a writer, finds a wife and we're back to the begininning. The story, however, is far from over. The phone call where the movie began is to summon Amir back to Pakistan where he learns what has become of his old friend Hassan and how he can right the wrongs of his childhood.

What I Think:
First let me say that I wish I had a friend like Hassan. At one point in the movie he says to Amir that he would rather eat dirt than lie to his friend. Amir asks "Would you really eat dirt if I told you to?" to which he replies "If you asked, I would. But would you really ask me to do such a thing?". Amir, of course, says no he wouldn't, but the point of the conversation was to show the audience just how far Hassan would go to prove his loyalty to his friend, and the fact is most of us will never really meet someone like that. Amir's father, Baba, is also an admirable character who, though he enjoys a good Scotch, values honesty and integrity almost as much as he values his son. Among these and other wonderful characters, Amir seems perfectly awful. You'll find yourself asking whether he deserves such a good friend, when he's such a terrible friend in return. The answer is probably no, but you must also ask yourself if, at such a young age, you would really have done anything differently? Would you have the courage to stand up and defend someone when you yourself are defenseless? I know all of us would like to say yes to that question, because we all think we could be the hero, but until you're in the situation you can't possibly know. This film portrays a hero of a different kind, it asks "would you have the courage to redeem yourself later in life when it really matters?"

After all, redemption is the heart of this story. The message is that it doesn't matter what you have done in the past, it is never too late to do good now. You can always be a better person than you were yesterday, you just have to make the right decision and be little bit brave.