The Kite Runner ***

"The Kite Runner," Khaled Hosseini's novel of childhood betrayal and adult redemption, receives a rich portrayal in a movie translation that does not shrink from using the real languages of Afghanistan to tell its story. The picture of Afghan society that is depicted is fascinating: there is pre-Soviet-invasion Kabul, the stark contrast of the Kabul under the Taliban after the Russians have been driven out, and the exile Afghan community in the U.S., so reminiscent of the best scenes of last year's ex-pat Indian community in the "The Namesake."

Director Marc Forster has excelled before in showing us other cultures that form the soil out of which his stories grow: the black/white tensions and history of the hardscrabble South embedded in "Monster's Ball," the English upper-class of late nineteenth and early twentieth century London in "Finding Neverland," even today's anonymous big-city commuter life in "Stranger Than Fiction." The film is above all an affecting story, but one that also gives us an understanding, maybe for the first time, about how rich the life and culture of Kabul was in the '80s; how bleak under the Taliban. It is one thing to read about soccer stadium executions under the Taliban, and quite another to see one as the half-time show for bearded "fans" who are actual fanatics.

The far-reaching childhood lie of "The Kite Runner" provides a contrast to the tragic lie of "Atonement." Here we have two budding writers, both children, both dealing with shame and their turbulent emotions by banishing the object of their shame. One seeks to acquire redemption by writing more lies, trying to create a world that never was and never could be because of her calumny. The other grows up to write a truth that does not substitute for action, and who does not hesitate to put himself at risk, no matter how out of character. The action feels good, and feels earned, thanks to some well-placed blows to the head, but it also feels like something required in the story arc; whereas, oddly, the unsatisfying ending of "Atonement" feels more real.

Performances, especially by the child actors in the first half of the movie, unknowns in a cast of mostly unknowns, are excellent. Forster works here again with cinematographer Roberto Schaefer, who achieves something magical in the kite flying sequences, as the camera dips and swirls, giving us a kite's-eye view of Kabul and the magnificent surrounding mountains. It's an exhilarating experience, one among many satisfying moments in this beautiful film.

Rated PG-13. 122 Minutes. Produced by DreamWorks SKG. Distributed by Paramount Vantage. In English, Dari, Pashtu, Urdu, and Russian, with subtitles.