The Kite Runner (2007)

At the points where this film soars, it is a poignant and touching story of childhood innocence ruined, and adult responsibility redeemed. There are a lot of exceptional moments, too: a fun kite flying competition over the streets of Kabul, a father and son's perilous flight from their home, and a tender, but rightfully brief, romantic plot. And seeing Afganistan turn from a piece of rustic desert beauty in the late 1970s into a land razed by Communist forces, then decimated by the Taliban's oppression by 2000 is quite dramatic. But the scope of events is never taken on, and the moments are islands in a sea of unexceptional events. The human drama is more than enough to get you from scene to scene, but the great parts of this film only serve to underline the bits where interest wanes. I liked this movie, and I liked what it had to say. But I wanted to like it more.

7 out of 10.