‘You have to run faster! We’ve barely got this thing off the ground’ — The Kite Runner mixes the amazingness of kites with the brutal repression of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan

The Kite Runner

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Kabul was once a city full of life, with bustling markets and wafts of sizzling lamb kebabs filling the streets. The Kite Runner, based on Khaled Hosseini's bestselling novel, shows us this idyllic Kabul of childhood nostalgia contrasted against the harsh, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan of present day. It’s a heartbreaking story, ably adapted by director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball).

Set in California, Pakistan and Kabul at various points through the last 30 years, The Kite Runner takes the viewer on a journey into the lives of Amir and Hassan. The two boys were best friends in pre-Soviet Afghanistan, but class differences set them apart. Amir and his father were able to escape the incoming Taliban rule and made a modest home for themselves in America. Hassan was left behind, but not forgotten. A phone call changes everything for the now-married writer Amir. "You should come home," says the crackly voice on the other end. It’s the call of duty, friendship and justice.

"It is not safe for me in Kabul. They don't even let us be human anymore," says an ailing family friend when Amir arrives, his newly published book in hand. He must now stand up for himself and for a country that needs people to do the same.

Friendship anchors the story, but it’s Forster's strong direction that carries the journey into this distant world. His long, still shots rest upon the actors' faces, making the scenes all the more intimate and the anguish all the more palpable. The cast is made up of relative unknowns, but this doesn’t diminish the success of this powerful film. Past films depicting Afghanistan, like Osama and Kandahar, have lacked the production value to truly cross over to an international market. The Kite Runner may be filmed in five languages (with subtitles), but it was made for western audiences to see and feel the desperation of Afghanis. It’s a gritty story that takes us inside a world that must not be forgotten. Put it on your holiday list.