The Kite Runner is a well-known, well-respected, best-selling book.

But what about the film version? Here’s what critics are saying about it…

- [Director Marc Forster’]s mix of topicality and sensationalism makes The Kite Runner sentimental, not profound. — New York Press

- I won’t deny that the film is sometimes rushed, oversimplified and skimpy on the details of Afghan culture that informed the book. But the tale still takes hold. — Rolling Stone

- A dark tale of gnawing lament and an all-consuming yearning to atone for lifelong shortcomings. — Arizona Daily Star

- The young actors are quite good, as is Homayoun Ershadi as Amir’s intellectual father. — Philadelphia Daily News

Khalid Abdalla stars as Amir, the main character in the movie adaption of The Kite Runner. He spoke to Rotten Tomatoes about the role:

Were you a fan of the book before auditioning for the role of Amir?
I always wish I could say that I read it before I was asked to audition for it, but I hadn’t. I first heard about it when I was asked to audition for it. But then I read it immediately. I went out and bought two copies, in fact. I read it in a day and thought it was an extraordinary story.

You have a strong background in theater. How does that come into play when filming a feature, like United 93 and The Kite Runner?
Obviously there’s a huge difference between the mediums, but essentially you’re dealing with the same material. In some ways, it’s a different way of expressing it and you’ve got different means to do so. As an actor, it feels kind if similar. But United 93, it was a totally unorthodox filming experience. Our average take was 25 minutes and our longest take was an hour and 15 minutes, which is kind of unheard of — and it was entirely improvised.

I guess a theater background helped with that because you’re running at it in long sequences, but each film comes with its own challenges. The essential thing that binds them all together is trying to tell stories for audiences, whether it’s for theater or film. Being able to share my experience with people is what I love.

Read the full interview with the actor now.

Marc Forster has directed Monster’s Ball and Finding Neverland.

But may truly become a household name with The Kite Runner, considering the popularity of the book and the controversy surrounding the movie.

He recently spoke to Comingsoon.net about the project:

Q: Was The Kite Runner one of the more challenging films you’ve done? It obviously has a lot of challenges in terms of the locations, the kite sequences…
Marc Forster: Oh, it was hands-down the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. Yeah, hands down. Nothing came close to it.

Q: When you read the book and were offered the movie, what was the first thing you realized you’d have to figure out how to do?
Forster: You know, the thing about it when I read the story was I said, “Oh, my God, this is such a beautiful book, it’s such an important story” because it’s the first time I’m reading about this part of the world. It really deals with a human story about forgiveness, healing, and atonement, and it doesn’t deal with violence or terrorists.

I hadn’t read a story about that part of the world, which deals with a really human story, and every time you think about Afghanistan, you think about Bin Laden and the Taliban, and this story wasn’t dealing with that. I hadn’t really seen anything like that, so I thought it was an important story to tell, and that was why I felt “you have to make this movie” because it humanizes and puts a human face on this part of the world.

Click here to read the full interview.

Many of you have read the book, but here’s a look at The Kite Runner. It hits theaters this winter…

Due to the success of the best-selling book, it’s no surprise that The Kite Runner is being turned into a movie; it’s also no surprise this comes with a great deal of controversy overseas.

Like the novel, the film portrays two boyhood friends who must deal with political strife, and ethnic and class conflicts. In one pivotal scene, one of the boys, Hassan, is raped by a youth who later becomes a Taliban leader.

And Ishaq Shahryar, who served as Afghanistan’s first post-Taliban ambassador to the United States, says that scene will destroy the lives of Ahmad Kahn Mahmidzada, who plays the victim, and his family.

“The consequences will be terrible,” he says. “To be raped or to be gay over there - it’s unfortunately absolutely unacceptable.” The stigma is so great that even a fictional depiction is problematic, adds Shahryar, because “the whole world will see it.”

The filmmakers have repeatedly said they had no idea of the danger during the making of the film.

“Nobody that we were working with [in Afghanistan] ever said this could be anything but a positive thing for these kids and their families and for their culture,” says producer Rebecca Yeldham. “There was such joy and enthusiasm for the sincerity and seriousness of our approach.”

But violence has now been on the rise in the country. The movie was originally slated to open in November, but was pushed back to December in order to work on these issues.

“This has been a labor of love for four years,” Yeldham says. “We have taken great pains to do right by Khaled’s beautiful book. And, none of us being of this culture or faith, we really, really carefully undertook every step of this process and tried to do the right thing by the kids and the families always.

It’s tough to be on the receiving [end] of fraudulent accusations when you know that you can hold your head high because you did do the right thing.”