The Kite Runner

I watch many films, almost every night, yet very rarely do I take the time to write about one anymore. That is unless of course I see a truly inspiring one, such as I did with the Kite Runner. Based off of the best selling novel from Khaled Hosseini, this adaptation tells an incredible story of a young boy named Amir growing up in Afghanistan in 1978 shortly before the invasion of the Soviet Union. He shares a passion for adventure, story-telling, and kite-flying in the streets of Kabul with his Hazara servant named Hassan. Although they are very close friends, Amir eventually grows ashamed of his relationship with his servant, and has Hassan and his father framed so as to rid them from his family. Shortly after this Amir and his father escape the Soviet invasion by moving to America. In California, Amir's father opens a gas station, while Amir finishes college, and pursuits his dream as a writer. He falls in love with the daughter of an Afghan general, and asks her for his hand in marriage. Many years later, in the year 2000, Amir is called by an old friend from Kabul asking him to return for a very important matter. Amir returns to Pakistan to find out that his old childhood friend, Hassan, has been killed, and furthermore was his brother. Shocked by the news, Amir sets off into Afghanistan, which is now overrun by the Taliban, to retrieve Hassan's son, his nephew. The film is set up into three phases; first his childhood life in the streets of Kabul, then his life as a grown man in California, and finally his journey back into Taliban-occupied Afghanistan. The film gives a good insight to Afghan culture and history and has a very beautiful ending.