Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

This book was fairly beloved when it came out a few years ago, and this script was one of the best-reviewed in town. So has Marc Forster delivered on all that promise? I guarantee this is going to be pushed as one of this year’s players when awards season rolls around.

Will it be worth all that energy? Let’s see what our spy has to say...

Hey guys,

I've never sent in a review before, but I love the site and I figure there are a number of people out there who are interested in hearing about Marc Forster's latest endeavor The Kite Runner (especially considering the popularity of the book). I caught a test screening at the Pacific Theater in Pasadena earlier this evening, with Mr. Forster himself in attendance. Before the flick started, a lady informed us that what we were about to watch was a 'work in progress' and that we were the first audience anywhere to see the film, which of course made us all feel like really important people. And then the lights went down and the Dreamworks logo came up.

First off, let me point out that I have never read the Khaled Hosseini novel, but don't fault me for this, as I'm sure I represent a sizeable portion of the population (and besides, I have enough trouble keeping up to date with all of these Harry Potter books). As such, I have no idea how close the film is to the original source material, and therefore I will limit myself to discussing the movie on its own terms, and not the adaptation of the story. And how is it, you ask? As a 'work in progress' it was actually quite good. I won't go into details on the plot, but it might be helpful if I provide a little context for those who don't know the story.

Amir and Hassan are childhood friends, growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan during the late 1970s. Amir belongs to a rather well-to-do family, for whom Hassan's family works (they are of a lower class). Amir is well educated and likes to write stories, and he and Hassan prove to be quite deft at flying kites around the city. We follow them for perhaps the first third of the movie, at which point the story goes on to chronicle Amir's life as he grows older, focusing on the mistakes and choices he makes, and so on. Unfortunately the second half of the film is not nearly as strong as the first, but more on that later.

I must say that the actors playing the two kids during this first third are outstanding. They've never done anything else (according to IMDB), but Forster is able to pull out some first-rate performances from them. Amir's father (referred to as Baba in the film) is also excellent, and I was generally pleased to see such strong work from an almost entirely unknown cast. I think people will find that the most recognizable face belongs to that gun-wielding shopkeeper from Crash, who plays a very different character here.

The majority of the film follows Amir as a grown man, where he is played wonderfully by Khalid Abdalla, who most will remember as the terrorist that piloted United 93 in Paul Greengrass's exceptional film. He does very well in the lead role and brings a great range of emotions from which to draw upon. In fact, it is largely due to his performance that the second half does not get completely outshined by the first. The problem, from my perspective, lies in the pacing. In the beginning, Forster does a grand job of introducing us to all of the characters and showing us the lifestyle and flavor of 1978 Kabul (the scenery throughout is superb). We get to spend time with Amir and Hassan through several beautifully staged scenes, and the movie feels almost perfect for the first act. The second act, showing Amir's new life in the States, is well done, but could probably benefit by being drawn out a bit more. It feels like several scenes just breeze by, and aren't given the time they need in order to resonate. The same goes for the third act, in which Amir travels back to Kabul. This is the most problematic sequence, due in most part to all of the issues and emotions that are raised (I won't go into spoiler territory), and it seems like the audience is rushed through it all as quickly as possible. The editors even employed the use of jump cuts to speed up certain scenes, which was totally unnecessary. I feel as though the third act needed a little bit more room to breath, especially given how important it is. The film would probably benefit from an additional 10 or 15 minutes spliced back in. As it is now, it runs almost exactly 2 hours in length.

The only other real quibble I had was in regards to the music in some of the scenes. However, it was a temp score, so hopefully it'll all be smoothed out in the final product. The screenplay by David Benioff (who penned the awesome 25th Hour, as well as the lackluster Troy) I'm pleased to say is one of the film's strengths, as is the cinematography. The kite flying sequences, in particular, are riveting in the manner in which they're shot and will likely impress a lot of viewers (I'm not even sure if the effects were entirely finished in these scenes, but I still enjoyed them).

I've never been a huge fan of Marc Forster, but I certainly consider him to be a competent and reliable filmmaker. Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland were certainly well done for what they were; however, I found Stranger Than Fiction to be a little disappointing, and I think most consider Stay to be kinda forgettable. I would rate this film on par with the first two, and maybe even a little higher since the story itself is so absorbing. I don't think it will be getting any Oscars next February, but I'm willing to bet it will open to strong reviews.

On a side note, I have to applaud the filmmakers for shooting this picture almost entirely in Farsi. I'm sure there were discussions revolving around having the cast speak English with Afghan accents for all of us simple-minded Americans, but I'm so glad that they went with the real language and opted for subtitles instead. It really does make a big difference in one's appreciation of the film, which I found to be very good when all was said and done. However, I would like to hear the opinion of someone familiar with the book. Hope I didn't ramble on too long.

If you use this, call me Himal.