Hey, everybody. "Moriarty" here.

I just saw this film this afternoon at the Arclight, and I'll have my own review of it up later in the weekend. I'm not even going to read Capone's review until after I've had a chance to write about it, but I'm sure it's as good a read as normal, and I look forward to reading it as soon as I publish my own.

Check it out...

Hey folks. Capone in Chicago here.

As much as we'd like all films about childhood friends to be heartwarming, sweet and innocent, in real life such stories aren't always possible. Based on the acclaimed novel by Khaled Hosseini (and adapted beautifully by David Benioff), THE KITE RUNNER concerns two Afghan friends, Amir and Hassan. Amir is the son of a rich man, and Hassan is the family's servant's son, but the two are constant companions. They compete in the cutthroat sport of kite running, in which a two-person team sets out to knock down other kites from the sky. It's actually exciting to watch. Obviously the film is set in pre-Taliban Afghanistan, since the Taliban outlawed kite flying, among other things.

While other stories about children would focus on what bonds these two boys together (and that's here to a degree), THE KITE RUNNER concentrates on what tears these good friends apart. The smaller but more ferocious Hassan gets into a fight with older boys, one of whom rapes him while Amir watches and does nothing. Hassan is not aware that Amir witnessed this awful attack, but Amir's unspoken guilt essentially tears apart their friendship shortly before Amir's family decides to move to America as the Russians move in.

Amir (played by Khalid Abdalla, who I believe played one of the terrorists in UNITED 93) grows up to become a successful writer, but he is plagued by the remembrance and an overwhelming sense of concern for Hassan's whereabouts in the aftermath of both the Russian invasion and the installation of the Taliban as the ruling power in their country. He receives a letter from someone in Afghanistan regarding Hassan and immediately makes the journey back home. He discovers that Hassan has a son who has been kidnapped by the Taliban, and Amir makes it his mission to go undercover and rescue the boy.

THE KITE RUNNER is just one harrowing story after another through Amir's life as both a coward and a hero for his friend. There are several moments in this film that are almost too emotionally painful to watch. Director Marc Forster (MONSTER’S BALL; STRANGER THAN FICTION; FINDING NEVERLAND; and the next Bond flick) pulls no punches in telling this magnificent story that is as much tale of redemption as it is celebration of youthful bonds. The two child actors playing Amir and Hassan are tremendous, and Abdalla's work is award-worthy, to be sure. Although far from your conventional feel-good film, THE KITE RUNNER provides an honest and devastating look at the realities of its characters' lives and makes us care about them more than I could ever imagine. Only those with coal-encrusted hearts can resist the impact this film delivers.

Capone