film: the kite runner

Title: The Kite Runner (2007)
Based on a novel by Khaled Hosseini

How I came to watch this:
Recommended by Sarah, national-level debater

Most of the enchantment of this movie is during the childhood of the main characters: Amir and Hassan. Hassan's family serves Amir's family. The friendship they shared was seemingly beautiful at first but was proven withered and weak when Amir decided to give it a run once he found Hassan being bullied by Aseef. He kept scolding and labelling Hassan a coward since then. Amir became the cause of Hassan's family to discontinue serving Amir's family. When the Communists invaded Afghanistan, Amir and Baba moved to the States and grew up. Over the years, Amir decied to return to Afghanistan and found out Hassan has passed away, leaving a son named Sohrab. As a sign of regaining what he lost, Amir tracked down the boy, which later made him realize that he himself is the actual coward. As an ending, Amir realizes that the true repentance is full submission to Allah which matches the movie's tagline: "there is a way to be good again".

What is liked:
If you opened your heart whilst watching, you would also be touched by the character of Hassan and Sohrab. They held on tight on what they believed was friendship, promises and watching-out-for-your back. Lesson learnt from them was to always be optimistic with your best friend. Some may say he follows whatever he's told. To me, it shows that he protects what he cherishes. Based on the saying: if someone throws you stones, return him with fruits.

What is disliked:
How Islam is portrayed: how Muslims can hate each other and not look eye to eye, how their lifestyle is polluted with the Western image and that only their servants prostrate to Allah. Also, how violent certain characters are. For instance, the Talibans in Afghanistan and Aseef, the big bully. This is not a family movie, trust me.

Quotes to ponder:

• when Hassan was told to run the kite for Amir

"For you, a thousand times over"

• when Amir shared with Hassan a story he wrote, about a man stumbling upon a magic cup that turns his tears into pearls but later, killed his wife to get rich
  

"Why did the man have to kill his wife?"
"Because each of his tears becomes a pearl"
"Yes, but why couldn't he just smell an onion?"

• Amir and Hassan's fave quote

"I admire your notion of fair odds, mister"

• Baba's advice when Amir avoided spending time with Hassan due to the horrifying incident

"Take care not to let these things foster. Time will only make it worse."

• The guardian of the Pakistani foster home's response when Amir yelled at him for giving away Sohrab, Hassan's son to a Taliban leader
  

"And you, brother? You came here to rescue a boy, take him back to America, give him a good life. It must seem heroic, huh? But what about the other 200 children? You'll never see them again. You'll never hear them howling in the night. I spent my life savings on this orphanage. Everything I owned/inherited, I sold to run this place. You think I don't have family in Pakistan or Iran? I could have run like everyone else. If I deny him 1 child, he takes 10. So I let him take 1 and leave the judging to Allah."