The Kite Runner

I've been seeing the book The Kite Runner on amazon.com a lot and had wanted to buy the book. I realized that I don't really have time to read a book (I have about 5 books that I haven't finished reading) and decided to watch the film instead.

The Kite Runner is about Amir, a boy living in Kabul, and Hassan, who is the son of Amir's family's servant and is often referred to as a Hazarra. Amir grows up in Kabul but together with his father, they are forced to leave Afghanistan because of the Soviet Union's invasion and find themselves in the US a few years later. Prior to the father and son leaving Kabul, Amir witnesses his best friend Hassan being raped by a bully. Hassan is raped because he wouldn't give them the kite that he had gotten for Amir.

I cried while watching this mainly out of disbelief that a bully in Afghanistan would do this to another boy. Although I live in a country that is very far from perfect, I doubt that this would happen here, which is why I am glad that I live in the Philippines in a way.

I recommend this film to anyone who would like to take glimpse into Afghanistan and their culture way before the Taliban rule. It's mostly in Dari though, so you would need to do a lot of reading.

P.S. I think Soraya (Amir's wife) looks a lot like Alma Moreno.