Kite Runner Movie vs. Book Comparison

                The Kite Runner movie was better than I expected although it ultimately fails at capturing what made the book truly great. What I think the movie did well was tell an entertaining story with the time constraints of a feature length film. Furthermore, I thought the actors playing Baba and Amir did a good job portraying their characters. The problem with the movie is that you are never as emotionally invested in the character as you are in the book. When reading the book, I was often awed by the raw emotion and tension that Hosseini can create. Although the rape scene was uncomfortable in both the book and the movie, I found myself more distraught when I read it then when I watched it. The movie also overlooks certain parts of the book that perhaps should not have been and consequently the pacing always seemed a bit off in my opinion.

                Baba remained my favorite character in the book and the movie as he was just as I expected him to be in the movie. Although he was very tough with Amir , his admirable qualities shine through in the book and the movie as both make him out to be generous , powerful , and comically cynical.

                Visually, I thought the move was superb and really made me feel like I was in Afghanistan , especially in the childhood scenes. Although Hosseini did an amazing job of conveying afghan culture through words, I thought the movie did it even better as nothing compares to actually seeing the scenes played out accompanied by a good soundtrack. The action scenes also seemed really well done as the final fight scene between Amir and Assef was thrilling to watch.

Another thing I noticed was that Amir’s troubled relationship with his father came across much better in the book than in the movie. Although Homayoun Ershadi does a great job of playing Baba in the film, the film will ultimately fail in conveying Amir’s inner thoughts concerning his father and as a moviegoer you never truly understand the emotional tribulations that make Amir act the way he acts.               

                Some scenes seemed very rushed as well such as Amir’s relationship with Soraya. In the book Hosseini makes it clear that in Afghan culture even expressing interest in a woman is seen as imprudent. In the movie Amir just goes right up to talk to her. Although this understandably flows better with western audiences I did not like the fact that Amir Rushes the process in the movie and it felt like the movie was distancing itself from its middle-eastern roots.

                Overall, I thought the film was done well but did not quite meet up to the standards of the book. Although the performances and cinematography was great, nothing could capture the raw emotion of the story better than written word.