Thursday, June 26, 2008
Let's watch a film together.
A workmate passed me a DVD the other week, it was a film that Matthew thought I would be interested in watching. The film is called The Kite Runner and is based on a book of the same title by Khaled Hosseini . By coincidence Gail had bought me that book as a Fathers' Day present. I had to decide whether to watch the film or to read the book first. I thought I would read the book first to get the full story and then watch the film. Reading through the book I told Gail what an excellent read the book was and that she should enjoy watching the film.
Last night we inserted the DVD into our player and cuddled up on the sofa to watch Matthew's copy of The Kite Runner . The first surprise was that actors in many parts of this film were speaking in Dari and we had to read the subtitles below the picture. This annoys Gail because she likes to multi-task and having to read subtitles stops her from doing this. Then the movie comes to the part in the book when Hassan catches the blue kite but is challenged by Assef who informs him that he can keep the kite but a price has to be paid. All of a sudden there is a scream from Gail and she smacks me on my left elbow. She swears at me loudly and tells me this film is terrible. I assure her that this film is good, it is gritty and that life can be cruel. She asks me if there are any more graphic moments to shock her. I think very quickly and assure her that there will probably be another 2 incidents that she may find upsetting but I can tell her when to look away from the screen. With this reassurance she agrees to continue watching the film. This film is classified in the UK as a 12A but it shocked this 56 year old grandmother sat next to me.
We get to the scene where an incident takes place at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul and I ask Gail to look away now. She looks away and my left elbow is saved another slap. All I have to warn her about is the incident in a hotel room in Islamabad . The film does not tell the story of the time Amir spends at this hotel in Islamabad. I hope that Matthew reads my copy of the book because those chapters are an important part of the whole story. Had Gail watched a filmed adaptation of those chapters, I would probably have had another slap to my left elbow followed by a stream of bad language as she hobbled up the stairs to bed.
I enjoyed watching this film and so did Gail after her initial outburst. The director Marc Forster had a very difficult job condensing this film into 122 minutes. I loved the start of the film where Khaled Hosseini talks to camera about his book and the work of NGO's in Afghanistan. I cannot fault this film, as a film. It is a moving film but because of the subtitles you will think that you may as well have read the book.
If you had a choice to read the book OR watch the film, then my vote would be to read the book, without a doubt. You get so much more from reading the book compared to watching this film. The social commentary, history and background incidents to the story are all covered in the book. You miss out on nothing by reading the book but gain so much more. To read the book means that you understand the whole picture and get to know a lot about human nature and the modern history of Afghanistan.
If you have watched this film then I urge you to buy and read the book. It is a wonderful story to read and your emotions will rage as you turn the pages. I do hope that Matthew takes the time to read the book now that he has seen the outline depicted.
A workmate passed me a DVD the other week, it was a film that Matthew thought I would be interested in watching. The film is called The Kite Runner and is based on a book of the same title by Khaled Hosseini . By coincidence Gail had bought me that book as a Fathers' Day present. I had to decide whether to watch the film or to read the book first. I thought I would read the book first to get the full story and then watch the film. Reading through the book I told Gail what an excellent read the book was and that she should enjoy watching the film.
Last night we inserted the DVD into our player and cuddled up on the sofa to watch Matthew's copy of The Kite Runner . The first surprise was that actors in many parts of this film were speaking in Dari and we had to read the subtitles below the picture. This annoys Gail because she likes to multi-task and having to read subtitles stops her from doing this. Then the movie comes to the part in the book when Hassan catches the blue kite but is challenged by Assef who informs him that he can keep the kite but a price has to be paid. All of a sudden there is a scream from Gail and she smacks me on my left elbow. She swears at me loudly and tells me this film is terrible. I assure her that this film is good, it is gritty and that life can be cruel. She asks me if there are any more graphic moments to shock her. I think very quickly and assure her that there will probably be another 2 incidents that she may find upsetting but I can tell her when to look away from the screen. With this reassurance she agrees to continue watching the film. This film is classified in the UK as a 12A but it shocked this 56 year old grandmother sat next to me.
We get to the scene where an incident takes place at the Ghazi Stadium in Kabul and I ask Gail to look away now. She looks away and my left elbow is saved another slap. All I have to warn her about is the incident in a hotel room in Islamabad . The film does not tell the story of the time Amir spends at this hotel in Islamabad. I hope that Matthew reads my copy of the book because those chapters are an important part of the whole story. Had Gail watched a filmed adaptation of those chapters, I would probably have had another slap to my left elbow followed by a stream of bad language as she hobbled up the stairs to bed.
I enjoyed watching this film and so did Gail after her initial outburst. The director Marc Forster had a very difficult job condensing this film into 122 minutes. I loved the start of the film where Khaled Hosseini talks to camera about his book and the work of NGO's in Afghanistan. I cannot fault this film, as a film. It is a moving film but because of the subtitles you will think that you may as well have read the book.
If you had a choice to read the book OR watch the film, then my vote would be to read the book, without a doubt. You get so much more from reading the book compared to watching this film. The social commentary, history and background incidents to the story are all covered in the book. You miss out on nothing by reading the book but gain so much more. To read the book means that you understand the whole picture and get to know a lot about human nature and the modern history of Afghanistan.
If you have watched this film then I urge you to buy and read the book. It is a wonderful story to read and your emotions will rage as you turn the pages. I do hope that Matthew takes the time to read the book now that he has seen the outline depicted.
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