2008 Woodie Awards
The Kite Runner: reveals the true Afghanistan
Michele Greenspan
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Life!
The Kite Runner is definitely not a typical Saturday night movie but one that every college student should spend at least one Saturday night seeing.
The movie brought to life a world that one would never want to believe existed. Although the horrors of life under the Taliban are known to most people, having to sit through it is another experience entirely.
The Kite Runner, originally a book by Khaled Hosseini, lets readers look into a life and country that has recently been ignored, Afghanistan. The readers are taken on this trip through the eyes of a young boy, Amir. Amir's family was relatively well off in Afghanistan and lived a comfortable life, but such a life under the Taliban is unlike anything viewers could have imagined
Amidst the terror Amir has one thing that brings his father joy, Amir ability as a kite runner. However, to continue this, Amir has to learn how to overcome all sorts of obstacles, from witnessing bullies torture his friend, Hassan, to learning how to adapt in America after fleeing Afghanistan.
As an adult Amir is required to return to Afghanistan in order to rectify mistakes that he made as a child. Once there, he learns that nothing remains of his childhood. Instead, the country is consumed with fear and terror from the Taliban.
Overall, movie shows the graphic details of what life in modern day Afghanistan is really like: the brutal murders and the unbelievably unjust laws from which no one is safe.Each day is a fight for the citizens' lives and, unfortunately, for most, it is a fight they cannot win.
Director Marc Forster courageously puts images onto the screen of a life that most Americans do not want to think about. Forster displays Amir's life in a way that allows the viewers to feel for each character in the movie.
Sitting in the theater one feels as if one is on an emotional roller coaster ride: feeling hatred, compassion and pure terror all jumbled together as one frighteningly overwhelming emotion.
Khalid Abdalla's portrayal of Amir allows the viewers to feel every emotion the Amir was feeling throughout the movie.
Although this movie may be too disturbing for those faint of heart, it is necessary to see in order to truly understand the pain that those trapped in Afghanistan have to endure every single day of their lives.
While hard to view, this movie can change one's perspective so radically that our racial and militaristic prejudices seem minute in comparison.
The movie brought to life a world that one would never want to believe existed. Although the horrors of life under the Taliban are known to most people, having to sit through it is another experience entirely.
The Kite Runner, originally a book by Khaled Hosseini, lets readers look into a life and country that has recently been ignored, Afghanistan. The readers are taken on this trip through the eyes of a young boy, Amir. Amir's family was relatively well off in Afghanistan and lived a comfortable life, but such a life under the Taliban is unlike anything viewers could have imagined
Amidst the terror Amir has one thing that brings his father joy, Amir ability as a kite runner. However, to continue this, Amir has to learn how to overcome all sorts of obstacles, from witnessing bullies torture his friend, Hassan, to learning how to adapt in America after fleeing Afghanistan.
As an adult Amir is required to return to Afghanistan in order to rectify mistakes that he made as a child. Once there, he learns that nothing remains of his childhood. Instead, the country is consumed with fear and terror from the Taliban.
Overall, movie shows the graphic details of what life in modern day Afghanistan is really like: the brutal murders and the unbelievably unjust laws from which no one is safe.Each day is a fight for the citizens' lives and, unfortunately, for most, it is a fight they cannot win.
Director Marc Forster courageously puts images onto the screen of a life that most Americans do not want to think about. Forster displays Amir's life in a way that allows the viewers to feel for each character in the movie.
Sitting in the theater one feels as if one is on an emotional roller coaster ride: feeling hatred, compassion and pure terror all jumbled together as one frighteningly overwhelming emotion.
Khalid Abdalla's portrayal of Amir allows the viewers to feel every emotion the Amir was feeling throughout the movie.
Although this movie may be too disturbing for those faint of heart, it is necessary to see in order to truly understand the pain that those trapped in Afghanistan have to endure every single day of their lives.
While hard to view, this movie can change one's perspective so radically that our racial and militaristic prejudices seem minute in comparison.