IMDb > The Kite Runner (2007)
The Kite Runner
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The Kite Runner (2007) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 69 | slideshow) Videos (see all 25)
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.
The Kite Runner (2007) -- Clip: What do you see? The rest of my life
The Kite Runner (2007) -- Interview: Khalid Abdalla "On preparing for the role of "Amir""
The Kite Runner (2007) -- Khaled Hosseini, the best-selling author of "The Kite Runner," says that refugees in Afghanistan are doomed without the continued support of the international community.
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.
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Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   23,016 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Marc Forster
Writers (WGA):
David Benioff (screenplay)
Khaled Hosseini (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Kite Runner on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 December 2007 (UK) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance more
Tagline:
There is a way to be good again.
Plot:
After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 13 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(75 articles)
Director Marc Forster on the Importance of Failure in Filmmaking
 (From FirstShowing.net. 12 November 2009, 1:09 PM, PST)
Brothers Movie Trailer #2
 (From Slash Film. 5 November 2009, 1:46 PM, PST)
User Comments:
I hope Afghanistan shares a similar fate. more (178 total)
US TV Schedule:
Fri. Nov. 278:00 PMTMC   
Wed. Dec. 23:00 PMSHOW   
Fri. Dec. 49:45 AMSHOW   more

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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for strong thematic material including the rape of a child, violence and brief strong language.
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
128 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Dari | Pashtu | Urdu | Russian
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS
Certification:
USA:PG-13 | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | UK:12A | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Hong Kong:IIA | Brazil:12 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Sweden:11 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Germany:12 | Finland:K-13 | Malaysia:U | New Zealand:M | Iceland:12 | France:U (with warning)
Filming Locations:
Beijing, China more
Company:
DreamWorks SKG more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Release prints were delivered to theaters with the fake title 'Playground Bully'. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Rahim looks at the picture of Soraya, Amir's wife, and puts it down on the table (at 77:20), but we don't actually see where he puts it. In the next shot, the picture is not seen anymore. more
Quotes:
Baba: There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft... When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. more
Movie Connections:
Features The Magnificent Seven (1960) more
Soundtrack:
An Ugly Fact of Life more

FAQ

What have critics said?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
65 out of 104 people found the following comment useful.
I hope Afghanistan shares a similar fate., 17 December 2007
Author: John DeSando (jdesando@columbus.rr.com) from Columbus, Ohio

After seeing the prosthetic legs dropping from the sky by parachute in Kandahar (2001), one of the most memorable images in all of cinema, I wondered why there weren't more stories coming out of such a tumultuous country, tied to Americans forever by 9/11. And now I think I know why.

Such a beautifully-wrought adaptation of the wildly-popular novel of the same name, The Kite Runner is a model of fine film-making in almost all respects except one: It's too pat. So maybe Charlie Wilson's War will show me that films about Afghanistan will not revolve around formulae and clichés.

The redemption of the protagonist, Amir (Khalid Abdalla), has been told forever in literature and film, just not in Afghanistan. So no matter how tear-jerking the film may be, it is still a story told many times of a man who commits an egregious sin as a child but redeems himself in the end with an act of courage. Meanwhile, director Marc Forster and screenwriter David Beniof lace the film with the major motif, kite running, to such an ingenious extent that it not only ties in the hero's youth with his maturity, it also provides a figurative way of showing the desolation and hope of the country mixed of course with contradictory elements such as cutting string and blessed artificial legs.

Thus the film as metaphor is a success in showing the dismal past of a struggling country and its hopeful future. The cinematic images also emphasize this duality: The vistas with snow capped mountains and endless plains deflect the vision of a barren land where trees that manage to grow have been cut down by invaders, in this case 1979 Russia. The titular activity flourishes in large part because the arid, stony land offers few other possibilities. When the land is revisited in 2000, the limited country seems almost completely bereft of color and resources, a gray prison that parades adulterers to be stoned in the soccer stadium and little boys abused by an out-of-control Taliban.

But true to the formula, Amir has a second chance. I hope Afghanistan shares a similar fate.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Kite Runner (2007)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
This movie was a false Propaganda against Talibans. thepaparoach
Is The Movie Anything like the Book? ace198
too fast joaquindj_cm93
Overrated adambenoit
Book Amir vs. Movie Amir? FallingToFly
Zekeria Ebrahimi? Brain_freeze127
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