[Film Review] The Kite Runner

It is commonly assumed that the Director of a film is the most important contributor to the overall production. However, it is the Producer who is involved in all aspects of the film-making process. One way to describe the role of the Producer is to suggest he/she is responsible for the casting of the entire production, with a particular focus on gathering together the best possible crew. A conductor, if you like – the person overseeing the individual performances, ensuring they all play their part to the satisfaction of the intended completed product.

The Producer of ‘The Kite Runner’ (a film adapted from Khaled Hosseini’s best selling novel of the same name) is William Horberg.

Horberg first came across ‘The Kite Runner’ when it was merely a rough manuscript Hosseini was still polishing. Set in Afghanistan in the 1970’s, the story traces the lives of two young boys - best friends - with different ethnic backgrounds; backgrounds which eventually play catalyst to a life-changing course of events for both. Horberg immediately saw the potential of this powerful, human story, and secured the rights to a film adaptation. A few months later, Hosseini’s novel was released. To the surprise of Horberg and his developing entourage of conspirators, the novel became a world-wide phenomenon, catapulting to best-selling lists in over 30 countries. It is then that Horberg and co realized just how much attention the film adaptation would no doubt garner – and in my opinion, it is this realization that is responsible for turning what could have been an art-house treasure into a fairly ‘safe’ film for general consumption.

‘Safe’ is the best way to describe the overall feeling of the film, which really disappoints me on a couple of levels. Firstly because I really don’t think Horberg has enough confidence in what general audiences are willing to embrace, and secondly because there are so many wonderful aspects to this film. The cinematography is sweeping and lush; the digital effects crisp and awesome; the vast majority of the score is subtle, ethereal, and extremely heart-felt; and the cast (made up of both seasoned and first-time actors) is completely superb, guided fluidly by Director Marc Foster (Monsters Ball, Finding Neverland).

What is it, then, that takes these fantastic elements and pushes them into safe territory? To me, it comes down to the screenplay itself. In adapting from the novel, screenwriter David Benioff (25th Hour) seems to have taken a very literal transcription. In the same way that a robot would translate the English language, all the poetics and elegance have been stripped from the script. The end result is a beautifully shot, brilliantly acted, and wonderfully scored, rather dry American interpretation of a truly endearing Afghanistani story.


The Kite Runner was released in 2008, and is now available on DVD.