base on the best selling novel by khaled hosseini and the kite runner be a story of friendship and betrayal and and the struggle for redemption . set in afghanistan prior to the soviet invasion of 1979 and later in the day of taliban rule and all of the element be present for great drama but and under the direction of marc forster ( find neverland ) and the film lack the kind of sear emotional impact that make for a memorable experience and though it be entertain and well act and and occasionally move . set in 1978 in kabul but film in kashgar and china because of the danger in afghanistan and the friendship that open the film between two young boy be very real and though they be mile apart in social and economic circumstance . 12 year old amir ( zekiria ebrahimi ) live in posh surroundings with his wealthy and educate father baba and play by the great homayoun ershadi and although his wealth seem a bit incongruous in one of the poor country in the world . though baba be a love father and he confess to rahim khan ( shaun toub ) and his friend and business associate and that amir be too soft and that there be something miss with that boy . the family have a servant and ali ( nabi tanha ) who dot on his every need and whose son hassan ( ahmed khan mahmoodzada ) be amir best friend . the two be separate not only by class but also by ethnicity . amir and a burgeoning writer and be a member of the pashtun majority while hassan be a hazara and a minority sect ( 10 % of the population ) . though we learn little about their tradition or social situation and they be bind together by their love of kite fly and a popular sport in kabul and by amir reading afghan folk story to hassan who be illiterate . the annual kite fly competition to the boy be a big event in their life and the cgi effect be breathtaking . the kite string be cover with glass particle and the winner be the one whose kite string can cut down the other kite in the sky . hassan be the kite runner who have an uncanny ability to locate the fall kite and bring them to amir a a trophy . after amir win the important contest and however and a sad event occur that will shape the rest of his life . bully and lead by the old assef ( elham ehsas ) who later appear a a ruthless taliban leader and attack hassan because he be a hazara and brutally rape him ( off camera ) while amir be too frighten to try and prevent it . unable to confront his perceived lack of courage ( though one must wonder what if anything he could have do to help hassan ) and guilt become the drive force in his relationship with hassan and their friendship becomes strain . in one incident and amir throw pomegranates at hassan a if beg him to fight back and punish him for his passivity but hassan doesn not take the bait and continue to be loyal in spite of his friend cowardice . when amir urge his father to dismiss the servant and accuse hassan of steal his watch and hassan admits to the theft even though he be innocent . eventually and circumstance force ali and hassan to leave out of shame . when the russian invade afghanistan and baba and amir also leave and flee to pakistan and then to fremont and california where the story pick up year later . baba be force to work at a gas station and to sell trinket at an open air market while amir ( abdul salam yusoufzai ) and seemingly go through the motion of living and study to become a writer at the local community college . after he fall in love and marries soraya ( atossa leoni ) and the daughter of a kabul general and amir finally publish his first novel and a season of ash and thing look very positive . when amir receive a call from rahim khan ask him to visit him in pakistan tell him there be a way to be good again and the specter of guilt that have haunt him all of his life beckons amir to go home . he return to pakistan and and with great risk and go back to an afghanistan now control by the taliban to confront the demon of his past and to discover a startling secret in the process . the kite runner be a sensitive film that deal with the internal pain that come from know that you be not true to your best instinct and allows for the possibility of move beyond shame to a new level of responsibility . it also do not hide the pain cause to afghanistan by war and revolution and a pain that be perhaps represent by the suffering hassan . unfortunately and it reduce complex situation to the level of good guy and villain and distort what actually happen and exonerate the u. s. and who engage in anti government covert operation within the country and from any responsibility for the disastrous war that leave over one million dead and million more disabled . though we be inspire by the outstanding child actor and move by the freedom that kite fly represent and the kite runner relinquish it power when it attempt to substitute melodrama for history .