Don’t let the bookworm prestige of the title or the two-hour plus running time dissuade you from The Kite Runner.

It’s one of those rare ‘issue’ films that remains an enticing and emotionally electrifying viewing experience that may restore your faith in cinema after the distracting memory left by that turgid Indiana Jones encounter you had a few weeks back.

The story commences in 2000 San Francisco, where a young Afghan writer receives a mysterious phone call from someone in Pakistan telling him that he has a chance to redeem himself.

We then quickly flash back to pre-war ravaged 1978 Afghanistan, where two boys (Amir and Hassan), compete in a friendly bout of local kite ‘cutting’ against others kids in the neighbourhood. Hassan is considered to be one of the best kite runners in town, and he easily shakes off his competitors to win the contest.

But the winning brews jealousy amongst town bully Assef and his groupies, who corner the boy in an alley with the intention to take the winning kite from him. When Hassan nobly refuses to hand it over he finds himself horrifically beaten and raped by Assef.

The sting in the tale comes in the form of a cowardly Amir who has secretly observed the act from afar but is too chicken to intervene or offer any assistance to his wounded friend. Later Amir attempts to cope with his own guilt by angrily lashing out at his poor faithful friend Hassan, having the audacity to frame the little nipper for stealing his priceless watch. Although he isn’t to blame, Hassan admits to stealing the item and finds himself leaving town with his downtrodden father, never to enter Amir’s life again.

Decades later Amir finds that the events of that fateful day clearly influenced both their lives in different ways, for better and for worse, and now he has been given the opportunity to finally redeem himself and change the uncertain future for someone close to his heart.

OK this might make The Kite Runner sound like self-indulgent pretentious drivel, but rest assured this is an intelligent and powerful film that does enormous justice to the audacious source material (what do you expect, it’s from Khaled Hosseini‘s best seller!). It features some pretty impressive honours from all involved, ranging from the two young charismatic leads to Khalid Abdalla (previously witnessed in United 93) as th

e older incarnation of Amir in addition to boasting some pretty nifty (albeit CGI assisted) kite flying/cutting sequences.

If you were too lazy to either read the book or to get your bum on the seat at the multiplex then this is your third chance to catch something truly uplifting on DVD.

And the extras are pretty impressive too. There’s an insightful commentary from director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction) and novelist Khaled Hosseini (who also provides an optional introduction to the film), several absorbing mini docs covering the faithful page to screen translation and how the harrowing literary imagery was brought vividly to life on screen, and insightful discussions with both the cast and several members of the crew.

The Kite Runner may be heavy-handed at certain narrative junctures where there’s a lot of leaning toward coincidental events that wouldn’t look out of place in a Catherine Cook adaptation, but at least we know that our future Bond helmer has got the directorial razzmatazz to make something prosperous out of that preposterously pegged Quantum of Solace project.

[story by Oliver Pfeiffer]

Time for another one of our super soaraway competitions – and this time you can win The Kite Runner on DVD.

Oh, you know, The Kite Runner – the story of Amir, a well-to-do boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is tormented by the guilt of abandoning his friend Hassan, the son of his father’s Hazara servant. It was Oscar nominated and directed by the man behind the new Bond movie. We called The Kite Runner “the star on top of the tree,” whatever that means. Anyway, it’s out on DVD and HD on June 2 and we’ve got two copies to give away to you right now.

To win a copy of The Kite Runner on DVD, all you need to do is answer this question:

What’s the Japanese name for a traditional six-sided fighting kite?

Email your answers – with the subject line ‘Rokkaku Dako Competition’ – to hello@hecklerspray.com as soon as you can along with your name and address, and we’ll pick two winners at random by the end of the week. UK readers only, please. Good luck.

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat. Or to be more accurate in this day and age, they're probably getting bird flu.

Nevertheless, it's not only the geese that are getting fat. All over Hollywood, producers and powerful studio executives gorge themselves after another year of profit. Once more the Hollywood Scrooges have cashed in on Christmas and generally taken a big shit on Tiny Tim. If we consider the Hollywood films that have been placed under the Christmas tree this year we'll find such shoddy gifts and returnable items as Fred Claus, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and The Perfect Holiday.

Yet one film released this Christmas stands out as the star on top of the tree, The Kite Runner. The seventh film from the gifted Marc Forster, director of Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland and Stranger than Fiction to name a few. The Kite Runner is a story of friendship, taking a stand and the circularity of life. It tells the tale of Afghan refugee Amir, played by Scottish born Khalid Abdalla who featured in United 93. The story comes from Khaled Hosseini's best-selling book, with the screenplay by David Benioff who also worked with Forster on Stay. The film is a pretty accurate conversion of the book, although some information is changed and excluded as you may expect.

The Kite Runner focuses on Amir's friendship with one of his father's young servants, Hassan. The story begins in 2000 with the publication of Amir's first book, but his joy is soon halted by an unexpected phone call from his father's friend, Rahim. We travel back to 1978 where Amir is a young boy in Afghanistan. He spends his free time writing stories and flying kites with Hassan. Amir's father Baba, played by the very talented Homayoun Ershadi; and his friend Rahim, ponder the Russian menace growing to the north of the country, while Amir and Hassan are more troubled by the threat of the Pashtun bully Assef, who ridicules Hassan for being a Hazara.

Meanwhile, in Kabul the annual kite flying competition is drawing near. The youths of Afghanistan compete to cut down their opponents' kites, the winner being whoever's kite is still flying. The term kite runner is used to describe those who chase after and capture the fallen kites of their opponents and Hassan is the best kite runner of them all, with an instinctive knowledge of where the kites will fall. With Hassan at his side, Amir hopes to repeat Baba's past achievement of winning the competition.

The cinematography for the kite competition is absolutely spectacular. The CGI used for the kite flying sequences is brilliantly achieved by DreamWorks and through suspension of disbelief you could easily see the kites as being real. Furthermore, the images of the boys of Kabul flying kites from the rooftops is breathtaking. A large proportion of The Kite Runner was filmed in China but the mise-en-scene can easily be perceived as Afghanistan. True the only visitors to the country these days are the armed forces and for the majority of us it is a place we will never venture. All the same this is the Afghanistan we have seen so often on the news.  

After setting the scene of Afghanistan in the late 70s and the simple pleasures the two friends enjoy, the film takes a much darker turn through the actions of the purist Assef. The shot of drops of dark blood falling on white snow tells all, as the soul of Hassan is tarnished through no fault of his own. Although the film deals with some disturbing and tragic issues, it does so tactfully and sensitively. There is also a simple humour that runs throughout the film which is almost childlike in its simplicity, yet it is effective and provides relief for the audience. After Hassan's horrifying experience, Amir is keen to forget what has happened and tries to distance himself from the withdrawing youth. Before long Hassan and his father leave Baba's service. Soon after, Baba and Amir are forced to leave Afghanistan due to the Communist invasion and they flee to America.  

Amir and Baba settle into American life and in 1988 Amir graduates from community college. Their acceptance into American society is shown by the celebration of Amir's graduation, with Baba buying rounds of drinks for Americans and sharing a toast of "Fuck the Russia". The Afghan community and American society is apparently united by their joint hatred of Communism. Baba works as a gas station attendant, while Amir still intends to be a writer, and whilst working in a market he meets Soraya, played by Atossa Leoni, who is the daughter of Afghan General Taheri. It is not long before Amir and Soraya are united in the bonds of marriage.  

The Kite Runner really comes into its own in the final third as it cuts back to 2000 and the phone call with which the film started. Rahim, who stayed in Afghanistan to tend to Baba's house; urges Amir to come and see him in Pakistan. Due to Rahim's revelations, Amir must return to the Taliban-controlled Kabul and search for Hassan's son. It is a journey of great danger and false beards. The bleak nature of the film returns with the threat of the Taliban, and perhaps one of the most disturbing images of the film is the stoning of a woman accused of adultery, against the backdrop of cheers from the stadium full of onlookers. Amir must brave his now unrecognisable homeland, face old enemies and eventually attempt to escape from Kabul with Hassan's son.  

This is a truly poignant and moving film. The use of music is outstanding throughout, at times sombre at others joyous. It appropriately reflects and emphasises the mood of each individual scene and was composed by Alberto Igesias, who has also worked on The Constant Gardener and Volver. That's Pedro Almodovar's excellent Volver, not to be confused with Guy Ritchie's cinematic shitstain Revolver. Furthermore, the ensemble of actors in The Kite Runner are exceptional. Homayoun Ershadi is dazzling and the scenes between the older Amir and Baba convey strong emotions and the theme of fatherhood is prevalent throughout the film.

Also praise should be given to Zekeria Ebrahimi and Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, the child actors playing young Amir and Hassan respectively. Their talent is particularly highlighted when considering the severity of the narrative in which they are placed. In fact the US release date was postponed because of a need to fly four of the actors and their families out of Afghanistan due to potential aggression against them. The film will not be released in the war-torn country but fears that pirated copies might be circulated, placing the actors in peril; prompted Paramount to act.

One particular criticism can be brought against the film. If you bear with the Scrooge-like analogy for the moment, in the film 1978 can be seen as the ghost of Christmas past and 2000 as the ghost of Christmas present, but the current situation in Afghanistan – the ghost of Christmas future – seems to have no voice. There is a pro-American feeling that is as noticeable as the whiff of reindeer droppings on a roof and it is here that the differences between the film and the book are more apparent. Baba is shown to have a new car in 1978, a Mustang, which the boys compare to Steve McQueen's car in Bullit. Their fondness of the film The Magnificent Seven and idolisation of McQueen is over-emphasised and could be considered symbolic for American valour against oppressors.

It may seem cynical but the feeling that this film has a slight tendency towards propaganda is undeniable. Some parts could almost be considered as an attempt to pacify people as to what is going on in Afghanistan at present. The actions of the Taliban cannot be condoned in anyway, but if Hollywood is Scrooge, then America itself is Charles Dickens. The film shows the Afghan community to be accepted in American society, yet less than a year after the film's setting, following the events of September 11th, there was great hostility in America against the Afghan communities. An issue which is excluded due to the film's timescale but that is certainly worth considering with regard to the global climate and the present situation in Afghanistan.

Overall with all cynicism aside this is a true Christmas film, as no matter what your faith or even if you have no faith at all, The Kite Runner portrays the real meaning of this time of year and reflects the Christmas values of charity, caring and hope for the future. The film does an excellent job of highlighting the divisions and rivalries in Afghan society and allows a glimpse of a different culture with distinctive traditions, which are perhaps inexplicable to western society. It seems likely that this film will be a contender for certain awards and possibly a few Oscar nominations. There is strong opposition from a few other films and particularly the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men. But with the ongoing strike by the Writers' Guild haunting Hollywood like the ghost of Scrooge's business partner, it seems doubtful that there will be many more contenders and likely that Marc Forster and possibly Homayoun Ershadi will receive nominations.

If you want to see a film actually worth watching this Christmas and not just sit back shovelling popcorn into your face, mindlessly chuckling at animated singing rodents and so-called Hollywood funny men dressed as Santa, then go and see The Kite Runner. It will warm you like a glass of mulled wine and tug at your heart strings like a child with a Christmas cracker. Only Frosty the Snowman and those with a heart like a lump of coal will not be moved by this film.

[story by Philip R. Barry]