New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Marc Forster.
Cast: Zekiria Ebrahimi, Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, Khalid Abdalla
Description: Amir and servant boy Hassan are best friends in pre-civil war Kabul, oblivious to the power struggle that is about to engulf their country. During a kite-fighting tournament, a fearful act of betrayal taints the boys' childhood innocence and destroys their friendship. Twenty years later, Amir has become an author with an adoring wife, Soraya. A telephone call from Amir's homeland, now under the iron-fisted rule of the Taliban, re-opens old emotional wounds and forces the writer to confront the demons of the past and assuage his guilt by venturing back to war-torn Kabul to rescue Hassan's son Sohrab from an orphanage.
Country: US. 2007. 127mins
Child's play: despite their different backgrounds Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) become friends before the Russians invaded Afghanistan
Nobody's perfect, as Some Like It Hot had it. And no film is either. But Marc Forster's adaptation of Khalid Hosseini's famous novel about guilt and redemption easily transcends its faults to become the last film of 2007 to be highly recommendable.
It does this by sticking pretty faithfully by the book, getting performances from its mostly inexperienced cast that light up the screen without claiming brilliance and refusing to indulge in the overt kind of sentimentality Hollywood might well have demanded.
Set largely in Afghanistan before 9/11 (very similar Chinese locations are used), The Kite Runner looks more like the film of a good storyteller than a cinematic auteur. It has few frills or notable sequences.
If it weren't for its smooth production values and a certain gloss, you might take it for the work of a director from what we used to call the Third World, particularly since its language is Dari, Pashtu and Urdu as well as English. This is a brave act in itself from a director and screenplay writer (David Benioff) who is not in the business of making an art film.
The film begins before the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, where two boys from totally different backgrounds become inseparable friends. One is Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi), the son of a wealthy landowner; the other is Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada), whose father is his retainer.
The landowner is worried about his kite-flying son. He won't stand up for himself and allows the local bully boys to dominate. Hassan, however, is of different mettle, which gets him beaten up and sexually abused. Amir watches with horror and does nothing. He even causes Hassan to be dismissed from his father's service. It is a guilty secret that will remain with him for the rest of his life.
Twenty years later, however, he is a successful author (now played by Khalid Abdalla) living in California with his wife. He is urged to return to a now strife-ridden country controlled by the Taliban, and duly arrives, advisably wearing a false beard. He is shocked by what he sees but is determined to devise a way of repaying his debt to Hassan.
Almost every actor will be unfamiliar to most film-goers but almost every one of them plays with a kind of simple dignity and direct expressiveness that makes one glad there are no preening stars involved. Homayon Ershadi is particularly notable as Amin's stern father, unable to comprehend what is happening to his country after the Russians have left.
The Taliban are represented not just as cruel masters, capable of stoning an adulterous woman to death in front of a baying crowd, but also likely sexual hypocrites for whom adultery would be a minor sin.
This is Hosseini's view, and it is one taken from his own experience. Forster tells it like it was in the book but without providing too much of a shock to the system.
Perhaps he might have been tougher but that might have rendered the film less digestible. As it is, there is no feeling whatsoever that this is a movie for film festivals or award ceremonies. It is much more than that: a good story well-told and with strong moral reasons for its making.
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This is my all time favourite book, so you can imagine I almost dreaded going to see the film. But as it ended I felt the same as when the book ended...stunned and silent. I never thought it would be possible to convey Amir's thoughts, the guilt that was held within him, as the book could do. But I was wrong. Kazere's performance as Amir was sensitive, subtle, quiet - one just knew by his looks and the words he didn't say, what he was thinking. All the imagination I had of the settings, just came alive in the film. The wonderful Kite race didn't disappoint. A really thought provoking and memorable film.
- Angie Collings, Blandford
I read the book and could not stop talking about it. It was beautifully written and I didn't want it to end. I didn't think the film would do the book justice but I was completely blown away - amazing. As wonderful as the book, my husband who had not read the book could not believe how amazing the story was and how you think about it long after reading/watching it. 10 out of 10!
- Shilpa , England
A truly beautiful movie, well worth seeing. The storyline is a little bit dark for this the ho ho ho season, but the cinematography is stunning. Definitely the best film of 2007.
- Tessa, London
This is best movie I have ever seen. Thanks to all.
- Ajmal Saber, Kent, UK
Tonight:
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