Monday, October 18, 2010

Remembering the Kite Runner



Sometimes you remember stark images from powerful scenes. Like Marc Forster's "The Kite Runner" .

What would it be like living your life in a country where all men are required to sport 4-inch beards? Where "Beard Patrols" roam the lands to check on guys who shave? They'd get the beating and imprisonment for cleaning up their faces. Where women cover themselves up from head to toe - with just a prescribed slit where their eyes could peep. Women live lives through a teeny weeny slit, seeing the world in veiled cages. Where charges of adultery are vicariously thrown to women until they are stoned to their deaths - in public! Yes, I challenge that culture that curtails the simple pleasures of humming or whistling or dancing! If the birds were Afghans, they'd be sent to jail for tweeting up a tree. This is a regime that has outlawed any form of merry making: no music, no dancing, no colorful garbs for women, heck - not even kite flying!

Who was it that said "A man who hears no song bears no soul"?

It shakes me to the core knowing that the people allow the Taliban such travesty on the most basic freedom! Maybe "allowing" isn't even an appropriate term.



Aasef (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) and Amir (Zekeria Ibrahimi). God bless the children who can no longer play or laugh or sing songs!



Amir (Khalid Abdalla) teaches the tentative Zohrab how to fly a kite in the skies of California!






23 comments:

Anonymous said...

The book is great.

The writer is awesome.

The movie is so-so..yet good thing he managed to fit all those hosseini dramatics in a 2 1/2 hr film..though some details are missing and bent, i still like it.

Cathy Pena said...

I agree. There was something out of kilter from the narrative device. It was as ambitious as its source, but it wasn't as fluid. Nevertheless, the message is mind-numbing.

Cathy Pena said...

I agree. There was something out of kilter from the narrative device. It was as ambitious as its source, but it wasn't as fluid. Nevertheless, the message is mind-numbing.

Elizabeth Cull said...

..hosseini's 3rd work is still on the shelf.. I think he is busy doing some humanitarian stuff.

A thousand splendid suns is a good buy as well. Still has the ingenious plot, yet sometimes dragging for non-readers, but every cell of his written emotions are detailed, -- and moving...

Anonymous said...

I think I replied using my company e-mail..heheh sorry.

Cathy Pena said...

@ Elizabeth:

It must feel gratifying to be able to give something back. Sometimes the best emotions are the self absorbed ones, as they never compromise for artistic liberties. They make the most authentic accounts too.

Cathy Pena said...

@ lust (tagalugin ko kaya lol):

no prob. as long as it gets the message across, di ba? ;->

Anonymous said...

go, translate it in pinoy kanto slang!! i can't imagine you saying it..
parang hindi kita maisip na magtagalog, sanay na ako sa inggles mong bitaw..
dahil araw-araw nanonood ka ng pelikiula, sa malamang ay may sarili kang negosyo at hindi ka empleyado..at ang paraan mo ng pag-iingles ay tila nasa B+ ang social class mo (hula lang..) hehe

Anonymous said...

@ elizabeth

what are you doing here? you should e-mail the clients and do some advertising articles.

P.S.

your mediocre English seems familiar.. Oh! are you me?

:)

Cathy Pena said...

@ lust:

I've never thought of myself as someone who belongs to a class. And I don't watch movies everyday as I do have work, are you kidding?

Royalties - kings, queens and princesses - sitting on their asses belong to England, not the 3rd world Philippines. LOL. It's really just a matter of enjoying what I do, which is "writing" and expressing myself.

30 minutes a day isn't too much to just sit and let the idea flow freely. I am sure you feel the same way since you moderate not one, but two blog sites, of bilingual persuasion pa. ;->

I can be soo Tagalog sometimes. Grabe ka naman. :->

Cathy Pena said...

@ Elizabeth:

Need help with those client emails? I can lend a hand, not sure though if I am that persuasive enough to close a deal.

You naughty, naughty girl!

Cathy Pena said...

@ Elizabeth:

Need help with those client emails? I can lend a hand, not sure though if I am that persuasive enough to close a deal.

You naughty, naughty girl!

Cathy Pena said...

@ Elizabeth:

Need help with those client emails? I can lend a hand, not sure though if I am that persuasive enough to close a deal.

You naughty, naughty girl!

Anonymous said...

sent it thrice..

dahil wala kang larawan, iniisip kong ua&p/miriam/assumption/ateneo girl and may ari ng blog na'to..:)

ako sa trabaho minsan nagbblog..habang nakatalikod ang manager.. kaya marami akong grammar errors, lalo na sa english blog..walang time mag proofread.hehe

Cathy Pena said...

So if I'd post my photo, you'd be able to tell exactly where? LOL. But that is a really good guess. ;->

I blog where I am comfortable and relaxed, or I don't. Or I might just end up bitching more than I already am. That is bad!

Anonymous said...

sige nga.. go! huhulaan ko.

Cathy Pena said...

I don't have the compulsion to post my pics, but maybe I will one of these days.

Maybe if I find a shoe that inspires me to post my mug in the next few days... ;->

Anonymous said...

Yeah. Some readers want their icon’s faces whilst reading them. And for the writer, it’s some sort of putting balls on their craft, just like pseudonyms are for those who have erectile dysfunction. : ) (for me, it doesn’t matter)
In your case, you’ve already explained it to me. Putting a swimmer’s pic is like hiring shirtless security guards to protect you from Sarah Geronimo partisans and airhead cronies. 

Cathy Pena said...

What's more "balls" than putting my real name and location at the profile? Sitemeter would confirm my location so that's quite a given truth.

And I've never considered a blogsite anything comparable to tabloids and daily sheets. It's a clear cut differentiation of "big deal" from otherwise. Me thinks I enjoy the latter.

In here, it's more intimate; I have more liberties and less responsibilities. I can say "ay ang pangit". I can say "Shame on you", I can huff and puff and bitch like there's no tomorrow (which one can't do when you're working for, say PDI, Phil. Star, Manila Bulletin or Business World). I even doubt if the 300 or so daily page reads that I get here are met with minimal enthusiasm.

And didn't you remove your cute korean teleserye-fashioned photo from libido@likido? LOL

Anonymous said...

well said, kaya nga sakin, hindi siya nagma-"matter"...may picture o wala, pen name o hindi, blog site, nobela o dyaryo, mas hinahangaan ko ang paraan ng pagsusulat, -- kaya isa ako sa mga nagbabasa sa'yo.

basta babasahin ko pa rin ang mga trabaho/review/ideolohiya mo..naaliw pa rin ako..(except sa mga indie boys na pictures.. )

at hindi yun korean inspired pic, a. (sinira ng korean at justin beiber ang beatle hair cut, 60's rock and roll aura at john lennon shades..) kaya ko tinanggal kasi mukha daw korean..haha

heheheh..

Cathy Pena said...

You're so galing making bola. LOL

But thanks for amusing me.

And yeah, the Korean look is unmistakable. I think I saw a photo of you getting off a plane and I actually though, "Uy, it's Gu Jun Pyo." It was "Boys Over Flowers" all of a sudden. LOL

Anonymous said...

mahilig kasi ako sa john lennon shades..

e. nangangati ako sa korean look. sa personal, bakas na bakas ang kahirapan ko sa buhay. class J ako kung bibigyan ng economic class. hehe. 3x a week lang ako kung kumain.

yup.. the plain ride was on may lipad laya - aklan trip with Kyle.

Cathy Pena said...

You're getting adept with hyperbole. Class J? No such thing, unless you mean Class John Lennon, Class Jun Pyo or Class Justin Bieber. ;->