If you loved the book “The Kite Runner” as much as I did, you probably can’t wait to see the movie, now set to premier in mid-December. You probably also know that the release date was postponed from early fall so that the Afghanis who were in the movie, particularly the family of the child who plays Hassan (above), could get out of Afghanistan.

Hassan is the best friend of Amir, the main character in the book, and the entire plot turns on a brutal rape scene when both boys are children. As a reader, it rocks your world, and I was lucky enough to see the movie in previews a few weeks ago, and it’s an incredibly powerful scene in the movie, too. Handled quite delicately, I must say, though given the brutal ethnic conflict that still rages in Afghanistan, I can see why the actors and their families felt like they were in danger. (Though how did they consent to the movie in the first place? Was it just too lucrative to pass up, or did they not know what they were getting into?)

The company that is distributing the movie has launched a contest for a local screening of “The Kite Runner,” which you can access here. Let me know if/when you see the movie, and what you think. When the premier date gets closer, I’ll write a review, too. Though let me say this: When I finished reading the book, I spent weeks thinking about the obligations of friendship, whether there are mistakes that you can never recover from, and whether redemption is possible. After I saw the movie, I have wrestled with those very same thoughts.