Book to Film Comparison

What struck me as most different from the book to movie adaptation was the exclusion of Sohrab's suicide. At first, I thought perhaps the filmmakers chose to do this because a child's suicide can be quite graphic and scarring. However, after pondering this I realized they did not seem to have any qualms about the rape scene. Perhaps this is because the rape was, in essence, the central event that spurred the novel and therefore had to be shown.
After thinking about it, though, I think the primary reason for the decision to remove the suicide scene was because the betrayal of Sohrab would have set Amir's growth back a notch. In the novel, I hated Amir all over again for breaking his promise. Since the movie was on a time constraint, I believe the filmmakers decided that once the viewers liked Amir they should not have been prompted to again feel hatred for him.
As far as the actors go, I believe the only ones that were cast correctly were Baba, Sohrab, and Soraya. Firstly, I did not like the actor they chose to play Hassan. I always pictured him as strikingly beautiful and down to earth. The actor looked neither wise nor holy. Another big mistake was the casting of Assef. The actor who played him was quite scrawny and weak-looking. When he was threatening Hassan and Amir I did not feel intimidated at all.
The problem with Rahim was much of the same. He seemed to be a fragile old man; he was not the strong father figure Amir looked up to. I believe the casting of Amir as a child was also sub par; I neither disliked nor liked the actor.  Also, Amir as an adult was completely off, in my opinion. I thought he came off as slightly unintelligent.
On the bright side, I think the actor for Baba was a pretty good choice. He seemed strong and respectable. Sohrab was more like how I pictured Hassan as a child; I wonder why the filmmakers chose to make Sohrab and Hassan look so different. Perhaps it was an accident.
Soraya was well cast, too. She was similar to what I had imagined.
Overall I thought the style of the film was well developed. I particularly enjoyed the shots of the kites flying in the air; it seems to be CG, but it's still believable. Also, the depiction of Kabul before and after the invasion was striking, and the scenes of rape and stoning were difficult to watch but not scarring. As far as sending the message of the book, I think the movie was successful. It opened the eyes of the audience to the horrible events that took place in the Middle East at the time. It also conveyed the theme of friendship overcoming the prejudices of race.
I appreciated how the actors spoke in their native language. It made the experience more believable; I always get frustrated when actors in films set in a foreign country speak English.
On it's own, the film was quite good. When compared to the book, however, I do not think it quite captured the whole story.