That overly sentimental line was uttered by both major characters at different times in the film adaptation of "The Kite Runner". I never read the book, but it has been on my must-watch-list of movies. The New York Times' Manohla Dargis totally trashed it. Other people have criticized it for not being picturesque enough, not being political enough, even for being too faithful to the book.
I loved it! It's not supposed to be about the Russians or the Taliban or the Americans' role in arming the Taliban. It is the story of two boyhood friends in Kabul. Amir is a wealthy Pashtun who is friends with their servant's son, Hassan, a Hazara. Amir betrays his loyal friend because his outspoken and hard to please father (played by Homayoun Ershadi, probably the film's other outstanding performance) appears to favor Hassan. Amir grows up to be guilt-ridden Khalid Abdalla (the hijacker who was going to bring down United 93) and the story then follows his attempt to find redemption for his hidden shame. The sexual assault scene, which Ms. Dargis called unnecessary, stems from the ethnic conflict. (The boys even had to be relocated to the United Arab Emirates for fear of reprisals before the movie's worldwide release.)
The performances by the unknown child actors, especially Ahmad Khan who played Hassan, are so engaging and authentic I hated leaving Afghanistan for America. The movie gives us a rare peek into the Afghani culture, even though China was the stand-in for Afghanistan. It was nice to see their customs, hear their language, see how they can derive pleasure from simple pastimes like kite-flying, instead of just hearing how bad things are over there. Some of the plot twists were contrived but all in all I enjoyed this film. Although Amir was never a sympathetic character for me, you do hope that he finds "a way to be good again".
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