Ryan Pearson's comparison of the book and movie versions of The Kite Runner

            While similar in many ways, the novel and film versions of The Kite Runner have several distinct differences which change the tone of the story. The movie version does a great job capturing the personalities of the characters, depicting them very closely to how I imagined them in the book. The same goes for the setting. Although I deeply enjoyed reading the story, as I mentioned in my previous blog post, there were aspects of it that I believed had a negative effect on the telling of the it.

For one, Hassan did not have a cleft lip in the movie, and there was no celebration of his birthday. Removing this detail and scene takes away some of the direct expression of affection Baba shows towards Hassan, by not giving him corrective surgery, making it harder to imagine him as his son. Another detail that was eliminated was the account of Hassan’s gypsy mother. While it was a very touching and emotional part of the story which shed light on the mysterious background of Hassan’s early childhood, it was not essential to the plot, and by eradicating it, more time was able to be allocated to more important events.

Another detail that was eliminated includes a confirmation of Rahim Khan’s awareness of Hassan’s rape. In the film, Rahim Khan only states that “there is a way to be good again,” which does not suggest that he knows. Also, I was aggravated to see that so little time was allotted to Amir’s return to Afghanistan and his adventure to rescue Sohrab. His fight with Assef was shorter, obviously for ratings approvals, and he was very much less injured in the movie compared to the book.

In addition, the duo’s troubles getting back to the United States is completely erased. While in my blog post, I commented how I was aggravated by the lengthiness of this series of events, when I see the film, I think it is important and the film should have it. An aspect of the book that makes it so important is how realistic it is. The book gives off a sense of the brutal and scarred life all of the characters have endured. This is lost in the screenplay. It feels happier, almost to appeal to the viewers, rather than stay true to its roots.

As an extension of this scarred existence, Sohrab’s suicide attempts were completely taken out of the story. I think this was a mistake, as that point was important for leaving final thoughts in the reader’s mind.

All in all, the film version of The Kite Runner should be commended for not straying too far from the foundation of the story. It captures very much of the book’s emotion and descriptions of settings. I enjoyed the movie nearly as much as I enjoyed the novel.

Ryan Pearson