The Kite Runner (2007)

After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.

Director:

Marc Forster

Writers:

David Benioff (screenplay), Khaled Hosseini (novel)

Stars:

Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Khalid Abdalla	...	Amir
Atossa Leoni	...	Soraya
Shaun Toub	...	Rahim Khan
Sayed Jafar Masihullah Gharibzada	...	Omar
Zekeria Ebrahimi	...	Young Amir
Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada	...	Young Hassan
Mir Mahmood Shah Hashimi	...	Business Man in Baba's Study
Homayoun Ershadi	...	Baba
Nabi Tanha	...	Ali
Elham Ehsas	...	Young Assef
Bahram Ehsas	...	Wali
Tamim Nawabi	...	Kamal
Mohamad Nabi Attai	...	Uncle Saifo the Kite Seller
Mohamad Nadir Sarwari	...	Spice Merchant
Mustafa Haidari	...	Party Worker

Storyline

In the 70's in Afghanistan, the Pushtun boy Amir and the Hazara boy Hassan, who is his loyal friend and son of their Hazara servant Ali, are raised together in Amir's father house, playing and kitting on the streets of a peaceful Kabul. Amir feels that his wise and good father Baba blames him for the death of his mother in the delivery, and also that his father loves and prefers Hassan to him. In return, Amir feels a great respect for his father's best friend Rahim Khan, who supports his intention to become a writer. After Amir winning a competition of kitting, Hassan runs to bring a kite to Amir, but he is beaten and raped by the brutal Assef in an empty street to protect Amir's kite; the coward Amir witness the assault but does not help the loyal Hassam. On the day after his birthday party, Amir hides his new watch in Hassam's bed to frame the boy as a thief and force his father to fire Ali, releasing his conscience from recalling his cowardice and betrayal. In 1979, the Russians ...

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Plot Keywords:

friend | afghanistan | boy | kite | hazara | 

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Taglines:

There is a way to be good again.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for strong thematic material including the rape of a child, violence and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Paramount [fr]

Country:

USA China

Language:

Dari English Pushto Russian Urdu

Release Date:

26 December 2007 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Cometas en el cielo

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£468,592 (UK) (28 December 2007)

Gross:

$15,797,907 (USA) (11 April 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Participant Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scenes ostensibly taking place in Afghanistan were mainly shot in the cities of Kashgar and Tashkurgan in the Xinjiang region of China (officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region). The DVD commentary mentions that scenes shot in Kashgar include the kite tournament (at around 24 mins), the mosque where Amir prays (110:40), and Rahim Khan's apartment in Peshawar, Pakistan (76:11). Scenes shot in Tashkurgan include the opening scenes of a kite duel and the boys running the kite (06:00), the Pomegranate tree (19:04), and the Taliban compound where Amir meets Sohrab (101:00). Scenes shot in or outside of Beijing include the wedding (72:41) and the soccer match (96:53). The San Francisco bar scene (55:07) was also shot in China.

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Goofs

When Hassan first points the slingshot at the three big guys to save Amir it is crossed but in the next shot it appears to be normal again.

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Quotes

Baba: The Mullahs want to rule our souls... and the Communists tell us we don't have any.

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Connections

References The Magnificent Seven (1960)

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Soundtracks

"Beds are Burning"
Written by Peter Garrett, Peter Gifford, Rob Hirst (as Robert Hirst) and Jim Moginie (as James Moginie)
Performed by Midnight Oil
Courtesy of Columbia Records and Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Australia) Pty.
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Fantastic Cinematography

I just saw it at an advance screening I haven't read the book, but heard many good things about it.

The movie was absolutely fantastic, very moving. With a roller coaster of emotions you totally connect with the characters. Shaun Toub was great, it was a complete departure from his usual roles, and his acting for those who understand Persian/Dari was incredible.

One thing to notes it that Khaled Hosseini actually loved the film which is unusual for book adaptation movies. Even after seeing the movie several times "he was sobbing".

Also the animation from the intro was exquisite, with names displayed as if it were Persian calligraphy, very unique! At times the translation was not clearly conveying the message efficiently, but all in all this was a great movie.