THE KITE RUNNER (2007)

Directed by: Marc Forster
Written by: David Benioff
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Starring: Khalid Abdalla, Homayon Ershadi, Zekeria Ebrahimi
Rated: PG-13

About the film:
A man returns to the land of his birth, now overtaken by religious extremists, and in doing so, must face unpleasant memories and reminders of a shame he has long carried with him.

Movie Quote:
“When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth.”
Baba (Homayoun Ershadi) in The Kite Runner (2007)

Bible Quote:
“How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?”
Job 21:34 (KJV)


Commentary:
Baba’s words of wisdom contain the seeds of truth. Lying is a form of stealing – not only from the one who accepts the lie but, as we see from the film, the one who tells the lie and must knowingly carry the weight of it also loses something from the exchange. Sometimes it may seem to us like telling a lie is the quickest and easiest course to take in a difficult situation, but it is never the best solution – and it always carries with it unpleasant consequences.

There can be no lasting comfort in giving someone a lie rather than the truth. All it does is steal whatever strength or healing that the truth promises to provide. This world is filled with false doctrines that at one time started as small lies that people accepted and passed along as truth.

When those lies are finally revealed, as all lies must, those who trusted in them will be disappointed and devastated. What has been stolen from them is immeasurably greater than anything that the lie temporarily provided them.

Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. What was stolen from Amir and Hassan as a result of the lie?
2. The scriptures state, “the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) How does that apply to this film and why?