The boys enter a kite-fighting tournament, in which two kites are pitted against each other until one is cut away leaving it to float along on its own. To "run a kite" is to chase after it and capture it as your own. Hassan is Amir's kite runner, bringing the fallen kite back to his friend. After a big win at the tournament, Hassan runs the kite that they cut away. And that's where the movie takes a dark turn.

Despite his courage and bravery against the bullies that haunt him, Hassan is left trapped and outnumbered. The bullies believe that the Hazara are scum and justify not only beating him for his status, but also raping him. During the confrontation, Amir creeps onto the scene, but is frozen in fear while his friend is pummeled.

Amir is shamed by his inability to act under the pressure, knowing full well that Hassan would have protected him had the tables been turned. Amir then plants his watch under Hassan's pillow and accuses him of stealing it. The two separate and the movie follows Amir to his exile in America. Years later he will have to test his courage of a new breed of bully in Afghanistan -- the Taliban government.

Marc Forster does a good job with the pacing of the film and translating David Benioff's ("25th Hour") adaptation to the screen. The look is authentic; older scenes look dull and slightly grainy. As the movie progresses through the years, the film brightens. As with "Monster's Ball," Forster presents realistic and cringeworthy violent scenes.

Despite being subtitled, the spoken Arabic contains the emotional pull that we would get from English dialogue. The children who play Amir (Zekeria Embrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Madmidzada) steal the show, easily convincing us that they are meant to be lifelong friends.

The kites symbolize the give and take of the political nature of Afghanistan, but also the give and take of Amir and Hassan's relationship.

Forster has proven that he can direct actors into Oscar roles. With "The Kite Runner," he has shown that he is a storyteller worthy of his own Oscar.