The Kite Runner (2007)

Director:

Marc Forster

Writers (WGA):

David Benioff (screenplay)
Khaled Hosseini (novel)

Release Date:

26 December 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Controversial | Soviet Invasion | Child Rape | Stoning | Taliban

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Dari | Pashtu | Urdu | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Sweden:11 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Germany:12 | Ireland:15A | USA:PG-13 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | UK:12A | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Singapore:PG | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Finland:K-13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | Canada:14A | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Hong Kong:IIA | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Beijing, China

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Release prints were delivered to theaters with the fake title 'Playground Bully'.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Amir's father uses his Indigo watch light to comfort Amir while fleeing Afganistan in the tanker truck. Indigo watch light feature wasn't available until 1992.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Older Hassan (voice): I dream that my son will grow up to be a good person, a free person. I dream that someday you will return to revisit the land of our childhood. I dream that flowers will bloom in the streets again... and kites will fly in the skies!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-12-15)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Jadoo Kardei Jana

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."