The Kite Runner - Preview
Preview by Jack Foley
THE Kite Runner, an eagerly anticipated film based upon the best-selling novel by the Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini, looks set to become one of the most critically-acclaimed films of the winter – but also one of the most controversial.
According to recent reports, the young actor at the centre of the story may have to be evacuated from Afghanistan following concerns about his safety.
The book spans the years from the pre-war Kabul of the 1970s to the brutality of the Taleban era and deals with exile, a son’s longing to please his father and friendship and betrayal between the two boys at the centre of the story.
It also features a shocking rape involving one of the main characters that shapes and defines the friendship that follows.
Part of the concern surrounding the film is centred around the rape, which has been filmed but which distributors Paramount Vantage have maintained is discreet and includes no nudity. It was even shot in a different country (China) because of the sensitive nature of the content.
But 11-year-old Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada and his father, Ahmad Jaan, continue to express concerns surrounding Afghan concepts of dishonour and have called for the scene to be removed. Ahmad has even predicted that he and his family could face reprisals from his own tribe.
And the New York Times reports that Paramount Vantage has arranged for three families to go and live abroad and is delaying the film’s release by six weeks to further investigate the claims.
Another underlying fear is that the film could strain relations between Hazaras and the dominant Pashtuns in the region.
It’s a controversy that’s threatening to cloud much of the good work that has gone into making The Kite Runner, particularly as the film was being positioned as a landmark release for Paramount Vantage, the independent arm of Paramount.
The film was shot in one of Afghanistan’s main languages, Dari, and deliberately used ordinary Afghans – rather than trained actors – in many of the roles. The three principal children, for example, were selected from among 2,000 in Kabul schools as part of a determined drive to achieve maximum authenticity.
The Kite Runner has been directed by Marc Forster, whose previous credits include Oscar-winning Halle Berry flick Monster’s Ball and last year’s surreal comedy Stranger Than Fiction.
It’s been adapted from the novel by David Benioff, who achieved widespread success with the screenplays for The 25th Hour and Troy.
Both men are more accustomed to dealing with bigger Hollywood pictures and The Kite Runner marks something of a departure for them.
Forster is currently working on Bond 22, Daniel Craig’s second outing as 007, and Benioff is penning the screenplays for two further high-profile films – Wolverine, for Hugh Jackman, and Brothers, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire.
The Kite Runner is currently scheduled for release in the UK on December 26, 2007.