Ewan ko ba naman kung bakit pag magaganda ang pelikula, ilalagay ng mga hunghang na tv station sa super late na time slot on a workday pa! Well actually iba ang oras dito sa Saudi compared to the Tv station na pinapanooran ko. At free to air tv lang yon so who am I to complain! Hahaha!
Tulad kagabi, I crawled to my bed at 11pm, ready to turn my engines off and try to sleep early (early pa yon huh!). Then came along this film The Kite Runner in MBC Max. Sabi ko titingnan ko lang ang first few scenes dahil nabasa ko na ito sa mga movie reviews dati. Nominated sa BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscars kaya sabi ko baka maganda. Ayun, ang ending, early morning na ako nakatulog. 1:30am to be exact.
Sabi ko naman sa dati kong mga posts, medyo nagsawa na ako sa movies made in Hollywood. I want to see world films – yong galing sa mga kung saan-saang parte ng mundo. And this one, though it was made by an American director (Marc Forster) has an interesting flavor to it because the story was set in Afghanistan and most actors were authentic Afghans.
It’s a story of two boys – one rich (Amir), the other a servant (Hassan) – growing up in Kabul as best of friends. Kahit si Hassan ay alipin lamang sa bahay nina Amir, Hassan’s loyalty to Amir is unconditional. On the contrary, Amir’s friendship to Hassan has boundaries. While Hassan got mauled (at sabi sa original na istorya ay na-rape) because of his loyalty to Amir, Amir can’t even defend Hassan kahit nakikita nya ang pambubugbog dito. Duwag kasi sya.
Hassan’s silence after the incident worried Amir even more. Kaya gumawa sya ng paraan para mapalayas si Hassan at ang tatay nito. He planted his watch under Hassan’s pillow saka nagsumbong sa kanyang Baba (father). He wanted Hassan out of his sight dahil baka mabisto ang kaduwagan nya na nagpahamak kay Hassan. Then he will lose the affection of his Baba na alam na nyang disappointed sa pagiging weakling nya.
When Amir was 14, the Russians came and invaded Afghanistan. Dahil open critic ng mga communist ang tatay ni Amir, they had to flee to Pakistan before proceeding to California where they settled. Kung dati ay mayaman sila sa Kabul, sa Cali ay ordinary citizens lang sila. Amir’s father worked in a gasoline station. They also sold stuff in a flea market. Then Amir finally got a diploma, pursued his writing and got married. Shortly after his marriage, namatay na ang Baba nya.
Nong na-publish na finally ang first book nya and he was about to launch his writing career, saka naman nagkaron ng twist ang story. He had to go back to Pakistan where he finally uncovered a long-kept secret. Because of that revelation, he has to go back to Kabul to rescue the boy na anak ni Hassan. Who turned out to be his very own nephew dahil si Hassan pala ay half-brother nya.
Walang masyadong action ang pelikula until this point. Pero nong pumasok na ulit sya sa Afghanistan, sobrang intense ng mga scenes at takbo ng istorya. And believe me, I was wide awake sa puntong yon even if it’s almost 1am. As if I was actually in war-ravaged Kabul directly facing the Talibans. Pag ganon ang effect ng pelikula sa akin, it must be really good.
Taken from a best-selling book of the same title (author: Khaled Hosseini), the story was quite compelling. Although sa synopsis nong book na nakita ko sa Wiki, marami pang eksena at pangyayari ang hindi ko nakita sa film. On second thought, baka edited na yong film na napanood ko kasi nga it’s shown in MBC. But apparently, the book and the movie itself was highly controversial. The Afghan government banned entry of any copy of this film dahil may mga dialogue at scenes na hindi nila pwedeng ipakita sa viewing public. It may lead to some violent reaction daw from sectors na hindi maiintindihan at mao-offend noong pelikula.
With such a rich plot to work upon, Marc Forster did a great job in directing the film. The storytelling was poignant, engaging and very real. Magaling din ang buong technical team nya from his cameraman down to the production design team. Hindi ko akalaing flying a kite can be that exciting. At kahit sa China pala ginawa ang shooting, nagmukhang Kabul talaga yong bigger part of the film.
I also commend all the actors who did a great job in portraying the characters. Magagaling yong dalawang Afghan boys who played Amir and Hassan. And even Khalid Abdalla who played the grown-up Amir. His portrayal of a weak, good son is very effective. He was able to convey the agony of hiding a dark guilt for a long time. And the struggle to make amends even if it means risking his own life, facing his weakness and coming out a stronger person in the end.
Kaya lang, as always, may minor flaws akong nakita. Like yong picture ni Shorab (the boy to be rescued) together with his father Hassan. Ang tagal nang tinakbo nong film between the first scene na nakita yong picture until nong pinakita ni Amir kay Shorab. But the picture was still as glossy at walang kahit kaunting crease or crumple.
Medyo hindi rin ako convinced that after 15, 20 years, kilala pa rin ni Assef (kontrabida as one of the Taliban leaders) si Amir with all the latter’s disguise. Sana pinakita na lang na even Assef was surprised to find out it was Amir na binu-bully nya dati noong bata pa sila.
Anyhooo… maganda pa rin yong pelikula. And as I always do, I’ll recommend that you find a copy of it and watch it. Para maiba naman. I’m gonna find a copy myself dahil gusto kong mapanood yong unedited version. And probably I’ll look for the book also. Gusto kong mabasa ng buo yong istorya. Coz it’s one damn good story that proves, as I always say, Hollywood doesn’t have the monopoly to good films!
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