I've discovered the book not so long ago when I was searching for my next book to read. The book itself is a hard-to-put down, once you start reading, so it's no secret that I've really enjoyed the book. Before that, I didn't know much about Afghanistan and it's culture, generally. I wasn't aware that actually there were different nations, like afghans, hazaras or talibs. Shame on me. After finishing the book, I've felt shame that until now, I've considered afghan culture primitive and aggressive. I've discovered that there was actually a movie adaptation recently and by mistake. I wasn't sure I wanted to watch it, as the movie adaptations rarely follow the book's narrative very strictly, and this can upset a lot of people, including me, as they expect to have the same story on the screen as they were told in the book. But in the end I said, let's give it a try. This was one good decision. From the first 10 minutes you can already tell that this will be a great adaptation. The scene (I didn't know back then that it was actually filmed in China) recreated the splendor of Afghanistan before it was devastated by the wars. Amir and Hassan were exactly as I've imagined, even if in my imagination Hassan was the bigger from the two of them. They play their roles marvelously, especially Hassan. Baba's character is also well chosen, faithful to the book. His appearance demands respect, his words denotes that he is a man who knows that in the world all that matters is to respect others and be fair-minded. It's very clear that the directors choose the actors very carefully in order to give life to characters from the book. A lot of people here complained that it's not 100% faithful to the book. I agree with that, but I also would like to add that it's almost impossible to include in a 2 hour movie all the details from a book, especially as this one. Still, the director tried to maintain the details and the story as much as possible and faithful to the book. Yes, in some cases there were minor deviations from the book, but it was there to allow the whole story to fit in a 2 hour movie. Especially the fight scene between Assaf and Amir was slightly modified in de-favour of the book, but this, in my opinion was also done to simplify the story. Also, Sohrab talks in the movie, while in the book he does not. It would have been very hard to explain everything that was written in the book around Sohrab if he was deaf-mute. I do not want to detail all the characters, but they all have played their role perfectly. Overall, this is a very good movie that everybody should watch. There are not so many movies that present so well the afghan people and their culture and recent history. If you have the possibility, do read the book. It's worth it.

This movie is based on my favorite novel of the same name. It's a special and thought-provoking story, about redemption and humanity. You are presented with a vivid and mysterious view of Afghanistan. Amir and Hassan have grown up together in Kabul in Afghanistan. Amir is the young master of the house, the only child in the rich family. His mother dies in his delivery. Amir is smart, quiet and sensitive. He likes writing, and expresses his emotion in words. His father's recognition and love is important for him. Hassan is the son of the servant. He is loyal and brave. Amir's father loves him even more than Amir. Amir wants to be the winning kite runner to gain his father's love and accomplishment. Hassan helps him, but he runs into an evil boy on his way home. Amir witnesses Hassan being raped, but he does nothing. Amir avoids meeting Hassan anymore after that day. He does not know how to face Hassan. Because of this, he even lies to his father that Hassan steals his birthday gift. Even if Hassan knows everything, he is still loyal to Amir. He admits the theft. As Amir wishes, Hassan and his father move out.Amir and his father escape to the US due to the war with Russia. Amir graduates from university in the US, becomes a writer and gets married. Amir's life looks like getting smoother in America, away from the flames of war in Afghanistan. However, Hassan and his childhood never disappear from Amir's memory. The memory becomes even clearer with time. This tortures Amir. It is Amir's secret deep in his heart. His guilt tortures him all the time.Because of a call, Amir is back to Afghanistan. He finally knows his father's secret. Hassan is his brother. He finally understands all the things his father did were for redemption. Amir deeply regrets what he did to Hassan. Unfortunately, he has no chance to make up for it, because Hassan dies. Amir overcomes difficulties and even risks his life to rescue Hassan's son, Herabo. Herabo, the pitiful boy, is raped by the Taliban. He is autistic because of the hurt in his body and heart. Finally, Amir adopts Herabo and takes him back to the US. The movie draws in the viewer's heart. It is about friendship, family, betrayal and redemption. It also expresses the complaints of the wars and Afghanistan ethnic and religious issues. The author of the novel was awarded the first United Nations Humanitarian Award because of this book. I really feel it is a pity that the only Oscar this movie was nominated for was Best Original Soundtrack. It is the number one story in my heart.

While watching Marc Forster's The Kite Runner another movie came into mind and that movie was Ang Lee's Life of Pi, because of the way that both stories were told. The movie is set in 1970s Afghanistan, which is a double character study of two boys one named Amir (played by Zekeria Ebrahimi) and the other Hassan (played by Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) who are best friends while Hassan is the son of a servant named Ali (played by Nabi Tanha) living on Amir's house while Amir is feeling blamed for the accidental death of his mother while he was in the process of being born by his father (played by Homayoun Ershadi). Meanwhile several years after that time period and after the invasion conducted by the Russians an adult Amir (played by Khalid Abdalla) is on a mission to go back to his homeland to find and bring back his late friend Hassan's son Sohrab (played by Ali Danish Bakhtyari) and bing him back to his home in California.The reason why I call this movie inspiring is because it teaches you how people can change their ways for good instead of evil, and director Marc Forster proves that with his directorial excellence.

I cannot believe how could the producer turn this excellent book in such a horrible screen experience. It is really hard to describe my feelings towards this movie. The main idea and all the emotions that were in book were left behind. There were parts in the book were I almost cried, but the movie did not show a thing from that.Seeing such a high rating in IMDb makes me wonder. Maybe if i had not read the book before the movie would be OK, but it is not.It did not contain very important parts from book. Did not show the thoughts and emotions of characters. This movie should be remade by Hollywood specialists, because it is not worth of the story...It was like fast run trough the story line. There were many mixed up important facts and events. Really this piece of junk should not be named after this great, sad story about Afganistan people.