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, Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, Atossa Leoni

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 24 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 kiting 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 kiting, 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:

based on novel | friend | afghanistan | boy | kite | 

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Taglines:

There is a way to be good again.

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Genres:

Drama

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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

Country:

USA China UK Afghanistan

Language:

Dari English Pushto Russian Urdu

Release Date:

11 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cometas en el cielo

Filming Locations:

China

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$471,713, 16 December 2007

Gross USA:

$15,800,078

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$74,634,825

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Participant

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Most of the Afghanistan scenes were shot in Kashgar and Tashkurgan, in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. The DVD commentary mentions that scenes shot in Kashgar include: the kite tournament, the mosque where Amir prays, and Rahim Khan's apartment in Peshawar, Pakistan. Scenes shot in Tashkurgan include the opening scenes of a kite duel and the boys running the kite, the pomegranate tree, and the Taliban compound where Amir meets Sohrab. The wedding and the soccer match were shot in Beijing. The San Francisco bar scene was also shot in China.

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Goofs

(at around 22 mins) When people from the Middle East speak English, they frequently use the word "too" where native American speakers interpret the use of "too" as meaning "excessively" and would instead use "very". Where the subtitles translate what Baba tells Rahim Kahn as "You come here too often" he certainly means "You come here very often" and would not insult Rahim Kahn by meaning "You come here excessively often."

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Quotes

Baba: [as Dr. Starobin examines him] Where are you from?
Dr. Starobin: I grew up in Michigan. Came out here for medical school. Once you get used to that California sunshine...
Baba: But your family?
Dr. Starobin: My family? We're originally from Russia.
[Baba shoves him away, and is next seen with a different doctor]

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Connections

Referenced in Quantum of Solace: Royal World Premiere Special (2008)

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Soundtracks

Az Man Begurezed
Written & Performed by Ahmad Zahir
Courtesy of Shabnam Zahir

User Reviews

Not a totally faithful adaptation, but stands on its own.

"The Kite Runner" is one of the most controversial films of the year, and it's not just one of those controversies invented by PR people to sell tickets. No, this is a film that was actually pulled from release because the producers began to fear for their safety of their actors. That may give you an idea of just how sensitive and topical some of the material is. "The Kite Runner" is an important film for our modern world, because now more than ever, we need stories that show the reality of war, not just action movies that glamorize the violence. It was adapted from the best-selling book, and some critics have charged that something was lost in translation, but if you don't bring the baggage of the novel into the screening, you will be very moved.