December 14th
THE KITE RUNNER – Based on the runaway hit novel by Khaled Hosseini comes the story of two Afghan boys, Amir (12 year old Zekiria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) who run carefree with colorful kites through the villages of Afghanistan. Amir is the son of a wealthy merchant while Hassan is the son of the house servant. We instantly feel the chemistry between the boys but we also see the difference in their class distinction. Amir’s father – the emotionally unavailable Baba (Homayoun Ershadi) – struggles to teach his privileged son right from wrong, but instead Amir finds himself learning the emotions of jealousy, especially when he sees his father bestow love on Hassan, following a kite competition. This sets a series of events that will trigger the plot. When the boys are separated after the Soviet invasion, Amir houses a deep, dark, secret that will resurface in America years later. Much like “Namesake” the story is emotionally powerful, sweeping generations of family during war time and after. But while the movie’s intention is to honor family value, pride and history, it really turns out to be a tale of forgiveness and fate, as grown up Amir (Khalid Abdalla) struggles with his predictable and personal journey from coward to redemption to finally courageous in his trip back to the (now)Taliban controlled city of Kabul.
This is a huge role reversal for Abdalla who was last seen as the terrorist in the movie “United 93.” The movie was pushed back six weeks (until December 14th) also the date after the Afghan boy (actors) school year will be complete. This is so that Hollywood can swoop into to rescue and remove the boys, who will no doubt be scorned, and in danger, for their participation in a highly-charged political and sexual scene. Three Tiaras