The Kite Runner, Essay Example

In the world of art it often happens that works created in the realm of one branch of art serve as inspiration for others. Poems inspire paintings, music inspires dance; and one of the most recent trends in art has been shooting films on the basis of works of fiction. Indeed, in modern world leisure preferences of broad public have shifted greatly due to the expansion of cinema as a way of obtaining cultural information and of spending one’s free time; people generally tend to go to a movie theatre rather than read a book. Therefore it is the more responsibility for the film cast and directors to create a screen version that mostly renders the essence and the message of the literary work which serves as the basis of the movie. For reasons quite understandable, a film cannot fully render all the information borne by the book, therefore it appears reasonable to judge the success or failure of the film on the basis of correspondence between the main message of the book and that of the movie. In case with Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner, a film based on the novel of the same title by Khaled Hosseini, the task of correspondence of ideas appears to be duly fulfilled, with the main drawback seen in the lack of the sense of guilt that impends over the main character throughout his life.

The thematic variety of the book has caused multiple interpretations and therefore the film director possessed a wide choice of topics for highlightening in the two-hour movie. The first topic that arrests the audience attention is that of the atmosphere in Afghanistan, the ways it used to be and the ways it changed after the Soviet invasion of the 1970s. The initial scenes of the film captivate one with the humming and bustling life of Kabul streets, with salespeople offering all kinds of goods, citizens in national clothes hurrying on their errands, Mullahs calling for prayer and children running to and fro preoccupied with their own little business that is of so much importance to them. Peaceful life of a peaceful city is nevertheless already pregnant with hidden discord, as  “the deceptive lure of Afghanistan’s peacetime bears the roots of conflict. Many keep themselves, consciously or unconsciously, oblivious to the cruel institutional, social, and political repression.” (Sadat)

The Kite Runner appears as an unprecedented guide to the social and cultural riches of the country (Agnello et al. 104–105). Due to historical developments of the past, there existed social dissent between various ethnic groups populating the country. One of such conflicts explicits itself in the confrontation between the band of Assef, representing the Pashtu group which was dominating the society of the time, and Hassan, a boy born within the Hazara class which was seen and functioned as servants to Pashtu. Ironically enough, it turns out that Hassan was a secret son of a Pashtu father, but that is revealed in the story long after his death. Hassan’s little owner, Amir, does not treat him as equal despite the fact that the boys spend most of their time together. Subconsciously feeling a worthy competitor in Hassan, as he was better at solving riddles, generally wittier, though not educated, Amir abuses his rights of the owner and plays nasty tricks on Hassan without his friend even suspecting that. As an example one can consider his ‘explanation’ of the word imbecile to Hassan; the false remorse Amir was feeling afterwards was settled by simply giving the servant a broken toy or an old shirt — a hardly praiseworthy act (Hosseini 25). Hassan’s serious and thoughtful remark on Amir’s cruel tale of the man whose tears turned to pearls sounded like seer and mockery to Amir:

“Hassan who couldn’t read and had never written a single word in his entire life. A voice, cold and dark, suddenly whispered in my ear, What does he know, that illiterate Hazara? He’ll never be anything but a cook. How dare he criticize you?” (Hosseini 30)

Through the relations of the two boys one discerns not only the topic of social relations, but also that of friendship as opposed to ownership. One of the crucial scenes in the story duly presented in the film is that of the boys’ conversation when running a kite (Hosseini 48). Hassan’s attitude to Amir as a true friend worth anything is revealed though his acts of fidelity, faith and obedience. He never let his master down, never reported him to adults, he sacrificed his health for Amir in refusing to give the kite he won to Assef only due to the reason that it was Amir’s kite; he sacrificed his comfort for Amir in not revealing the truth about the stolen watch. He suffered so much for the person he prized as a friend; and still Amir did not reciprocate his attitude. The only person who ever tried to open Hassan’s eyes on the painful truth of social relations was Assef, who before raping Hassan uttered a speech that turned into prophecy:

“Would he do the same for you? Have you ever wondered why he never includes you in games when he has guests? Why he only plays with you when no one else is around? I’ll tell you why, Hazara. Because to him, you’re nothing but an ugly pet. Something he can play with when he’s bored, something he can kick when he’s angry. Don’t ever fool yourself and think you’re something more. […] Friends? […] You pathetic fool! Someday you’ll wake up from your little fantasy and learn just how good of a friend he is.” (Hosseini 64)

Hassan did feel all the rightness of Amir’s words eventually, but led by his unique feeling of sacrifice for the sake of true friendship he managed to remain open-hearted and loyal to Amir even after all the hardship he experienced due to his cruel master.

Following one of the topics of the book, the movie also succeeds in reflecting the tragedy of father–son relations, which are complicated by the fact that Baba was the father of both Amir and Hassan. One clearly perceives the happiness he experiences when celebrating his secret son’s birthday, the pride he takes in Hassan’s honest and decent personality, the pain he suffers at learning something has been wrong with Hassan after the violence episode, and the torture he experiences when he needs to part with his son after a false accusation made by his brother. Pain is also the companion of Amir’s: when he overhears a talk between Rahim Khan and his father criticizing his passive behavior and not believing in his success, he is reinforced in his belief that his father hates him. Thus it appears obvious that but for Rahim’s trustful treatment and support of him, Amir would have never acquired self-assertion and belief in his own talents. It is also due to Rahim’s effort and invitation back to the Afghanistan that Amir can at least partially atone his sin to Hassan by saving his nephew from the Islamic rapists and horrors of war. As Hayes remarks, “Amir finally forgave himself, turned his guilt into good, and found redemption” (95).

The stunning psychological effects and the deep dramatic impact of both the movie and the book are by large achieved due to a concentric composition with multiple foreshadowing and flashbacks. The orphanage set up and sponsored by Baba at the beginning, at the end turns to be the resort for Hassan’s son; the ‘Sultans of Kabul’ inscription carved on the tree by Amir later becomes the title of his book; the cheerful and happy atmosphere of Hassan’s birthday is opposed to the dispirited air of Amir’s party; the kites competition being a custom of national importance to the Afghans is substituted by the football game introduced by the Taliban gunmen as an arena for political propaganda. The way for Amir’s return to Afghanistan lies through the same control point, though the conditions of passing the border have changed; Hassan calls his son Sohrab in memory of the favorite story his owner and friend used to read to him; and yet one of the most striking reminiscences emerge when Hassan’s son points his slingshot at Assef the way his father once did to protect Amir. Here one can see generations coming together following the call for justice and loyalty that is inherent in their blood.

Naturally, there are certain moments from the book that due to the limitedness of film time had to be left out. Such are the story of Hassan’s mother, Hassan’s lip surgery as a present for his birthday, Sohrab’s attempted suicide, and many other details that actually do not form the core of the story. What remains unjustly unsaid is the fact that Rahim Khan did know about Amir’s betrayal as Hassan had told it to him — therefrom comes his phrase in the telephone conversation “There is a way to be good again” which is not properly explained in the movie (The Kite Runner).

Nevertheless, the film appears a worth-while screen version of the book, successfully preserving the main themes of guilt and atonement, friendship and family relations, social contradictions and the necessity for preserving peace and unique historical image and traditions of exotic countries possessing their own soul of priceless value.

Works Cited

Agnello, Mary F., Reese H. Todd, Bolanle Olaniran, and Thomas A. Lucey. “Afghanistan and Multiculturalism in Khaled Hosseini’s Novels: Study of Place and Diversity.” Multicultural Education & Technology Journal 3.2 (2009): 96–111.

Hayes, Judy. In Search of the Kite Runner. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2007.

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003.

Sadat, Mir Hekmatullah. “Afghan History: Kite Flying, Kite Running and Kite Banning.” Lemar – Aftaab 3.4 (June 2004). 19 Nov. 2009. <http://www.afghanmagazine.com/2004_06/articles/hsadat.shtml>.

The Kite Runner. Dir. Marc Forster. DreamWorks SKG, 2007.