Kite Runner is Best Picture of the Year

As a movie buff, I have seen quite a few films this past year. With the Oscars coming up and people scurrying to the movie theaters to see the movies that will be up for Oscars, I would definitely recommend the film Kite Runner. Kite Runner is a spectacular film that will certainly be up for several Oscar awards including best picture and best directing.

Kite Runner is a film that is about the friendship of two boys growing up Amir and Hassan played by Zekira Ebrahimi and Ahmad Mahmoodzada. The film is based on the novel "Kite Runner" but the film is every bit as good if not better than the book. The film also shows the Afghan way of life and how class sects come into play. Not all people are equal in Afghan culture as class structure is an important part of their life. The term "hazzara" which refers to a lower status of slave-like people is a recurring word in the novel. The friendship between Amir and Hassan is stressed at times because Hassan is of a lower class status than Amir. However, the two boys growing up are great friends and they love flying kites together in competition.

Amir is a boy who loves to write and when he grows up he becomes a professional writer. During his childhood, Amir is picked on by other boys for being friends with Hassan and Hassan is beaten up, including one scene in which he is sodomized. In that scene, Amir watches his friend getting beaten up and sodomized as he watches from behind a wall and does nothing to stop it. His cowardliness is felt by the viewer who has great admiration and sympathy for Hassan. A fight breaks out between the boys because of Amir's cowardliness.

When the Taliban start to take over in Afghanistan, Amir and his father are able to escape to America. Hassan and his father have to stay behind. The movie also focuses on the relationship between Amir and his father who have a rocky relationship until Amir grows older and cares for his aging father. In another great scene in the film, Amir asks his father to talk to a woman's father who was a general in Kabul. Amir is in love with the girl but in accordance to Afghan culture, Amir's father must first talk to the girl's father to arrange and accept the marriage.

The last part of the film follows the stunning developments of Amir as he learns that his childhood friend Hassan was his brother because his father had an affair with one of his servants. The film also has Amir going back to Afghanistan which is a very dangerous place for an American with the presence of the Taliban. Amir has learned that his friend Hassan was killed by the Taliban and Amir is on a quest in Afghanistan to bring Hassan's son, his nephew back with him to America. For Amir, the journey tests his bravery as he has to go into the heart of the Taliban land, standing up against the chief Taliban people in order to retrieve the child. This also involves Amir getting beaten up and almost killed.

Kite Runner is a beautiful film and storyline. My only regret is that much of the film is in subtitles and I'm not a big fan of subtitles because it makes it harder to follow the story. However, the film has a storyline and gives an in depth analysis of the Taliban life and Afghan culture. I highly recommend this film to everyone.