Book vs. Movie

After watching the movie, I realized why people always say the book is better than the movie. There were so many details that were omitted in the movie, because if every scene were included, with every detail, the movie would take 2 days to watch.

First off, the movie started in 2000, when Amir is already a grown man living with Soraya in California. In the book, the novel starts off in a flashback. Hassan does not threaten Assef when he raises his slingshot; he simply asks them to leave them alone. In the novel, he tells the boys that if they don’t leave, Assef’s new nickname will be “One-eyed Assef.” I feel that this is important because it is spoken of in later scenes. Also, the movie does not include the scenes in which Amir reads to Hassan and deceits him about the meaning of words. I feel that this is a significant part of the story because it resembles the only sense of true power that Amir feels he has over Hassan, and also highlights his insecurities. Hassan does not have a cleft lip in the movie, which also causes the scene in which Baba buys Hassan a surgery for his birthday to be excluded. This scene is an essential part of the story, and I was disappointed to see that it was not included in the movie. This gift to Hassan is a true symbol of Baba’s paternal love for him, and also hints to the audience that Hassan is as important to him as Amir is.

Small details that would express the complexities that occur between Hassan and the other characters were unfortunately not included in the movie, and could have shown the audience just how important and influential of a character Hassan really was. Because these elements were neglected, Amir’s strong, life-dictating, and ill jealousy for Hassan is not properly conveyed in the movie. In the movie, it seems as if Amir’s plot to get rid of Ali and Hassan is simply a capricious act. Had the movie relayed the aspects of their relationship, the movie would have conveyed that this action was really his way of escaping his issues and pushing himself away from his inevitable guilt.

Amir’s love for Baba and jealousy of Hassan is so clearly and prominently depicted in the novel. The readers can see that these emotions are the roots of the events that take place in the rest of Amir’s life, and that they dictate his every action. I feel as though the movie does not properly express just how much Amir struggles for Baba’s love, and how much of a meaningful character Baba is in Amir’s life.

If I had not read the novel, I would probably have enjoyed “The Kite Runner” as a movie, without realizing the depth of the story that is so absent in the film. Now that I know how great Khaled Hosseini’s novel truly is, I realize how much critical detail the movie lacks.