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:

China

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

Screenwriter David Benioff mentions at 21:18 on the DVD commentary that what Uncle Saifo the kite seller says in Dari is completely different from what is shown in the English subtitles. Director Marc Forster adds that the improvisation technique was common among the Afghan actors, many of whom weren't really actors.

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Goofs

The stoning of adulterers in the stadium is incorrectly depicted. The correct process involves digging two holes. The woman is placed in the hole up to her shoulders with only her neck and head showing out, and the man is placed in his hole up to his knees with the rest of his body showing out.

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Quotes

Baba: [regarding the mullahs, who teach that drinking alcohol is a sin] I piss on the beards of all those self-righteous monkeys.

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Connections

Referenced in Tosh.0: Prom Girl (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Aye Dara Kay Jaylawni"
Traditional

User Reviews

Nice transition from book to film

I know that to include everything in the book, the film would have to have been several hours long, so I think they did their best to include things that were crucial and pivotal to the story. I thought the casting was great, the children who played Amir and Hassan were very good actors. And the guy who played Amir as an adult was great! The scenes between him and Baba were especially touching. I thought the locations they used were interesting... scenes set in Afghanistan were shot in China, and one scene that took place in Fremont, CA (the graduation scene) was actually shot on Treasure Island in San Francisco. I worked one day as an extra on "Kite Runner" and it was that day, the day they shot the graduation scene. We reported to Treasure Island in the morning, they checked everyone's wardrobe to make sure it looked like the late 80s, an then we took our places in the audience. They shot the scene over and over again until they were happy with it. It was cool to see the actors up close and also to see the book's author, who was on hand as a story consultant. I thought this book was excellent and I recommend both the book and the movie to anyone. This is a moving story about friendship, love, guilt and eventual redemption. "There is a way to be good again."