This was a very good adaptation of the novel of the same name. It is mostly spoken in Dari, which is the Afghani dialect of Farsi (Persian). It focuses on the relationship between two young boys, one a wealthy Pashtoon and the other the son of the Pashtoon family's Hazara servant. It is about racism (if we assume that pashtoons and Harazas are members of different races), and the trials of the Pashtoon boy's coming of age as a refugee in San Francisco, where his formerly important father has to support himself and his son by clerking in a 7-11 and selling junk in a flea market.
It was filmed in Western China, in a place that greatly resembles Kabul and the Khyber Pass area. The scenery, the wardrobe, and the portrayal of Afghani life and customs seem authentic and fascinating.
