Introduction
The film shows the story of two boys from different worlds: one is rich and well-read; the other is poor and illiterate. The boys have been living together since childhood, they are best friends. The war in Afghanistan will force Amin and his father to leave their home and a luxurious mansion, moving to America and starting to live from scratch. The film conveys the atmosphere of brutality that prevailed in Kabul in 1975. Like the film The Boy in Striped Pajamas, it is primarily a political story about a war that forever crippled the fate of those who went through it as children.
Themes
First of all, this film raises the topic of childhood friendship. Just like the characters in the movie The Boy in Striped Pajamas, Amin and Hassan are best friends, ignoring the social differences between them. The next important topic that is covered in the film is how wars affect the fate of different people. However, if in The Boy in Striped Pajamas belonging to the privileged layer does not save the main character from death, in The Kite Runner’s main character Amin has the opportunity to escape the horrors of war, whereas Hassan, born in a poor family, does not.
Characters
Amir is the son of a rich and respected Baba, he is a well–read and intelligent boy, but he is very cowardly, gentle, insecure and a little envious. Hassan is a beggar servant and Amir’s best friend. According to Amir’s feelings, Baba loves Hassan even more than his own son due to his kind and brave personality. In the Boy in Striped Pajamas, there is no such pronounced difference in the characters of the heroes belonging to different social strata.
Conflicts
The personal conflict in both The Kite Runner and The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is related to the issue of friendship and how much a true friend should share the hardships of their close friend. In The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, a little German accepts the same fate as his Jewish friend and dies with him. However, in The Kite Runner, Amir refuses to stand up for Hassan, leaving him alone with difficulties.
Symbols
In both films, the key symbols included in the titles and posters are related to the war. Since striped pyjamas were worn by concentration camp residents, in The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, the clothes of a little Jew are a symbol of genocide. As for the kites, which are the leitmotif in The Kite Runner, they were widely used as scouts and spotters of artillery fire. Thus, the presence of this symbol leads to the presence of a historical conflict in the work.
Conclusion
Both films reveal major historical conflicts: The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is dedicated to the genocide of Jews by Nazi Germany. The Kite Runner depicts the war in Afghanistan. Unlike The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, which shows a historical conflict between residents of different countries, The Kite Runner raises the problem of oppression of the country’s indigenous people. The history of Hassan and Amir is closely intertwined with the history of their country. The conflict between the government forces of Afghanistan and the armed formations of the Afghan Mujahideen is closely related to the personal conflict of the characters. The events that the boys witnessed in childhood left an imprint on their entire future life.