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 & 22 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

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, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$15,800,078

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$74,180,745

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Participant Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Author Khaled Hosseini mentions in the commentary that the name on the door "Dr. Amani" is his homage to his medical school roommate. He mentions in the documentary "Words from the Kite Runner" also on the DVD that he, himself, was a practicing physician for eight and a half years before choosing to concentrate on writing after 'The Kite Runner' book became successful.

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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: [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 Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious (2007)

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Soundtracks

Yadi Rozgari Shereem
Written & Performed by Ahmad Zahir
Courtesy of Shabnam Zahir

User Reviews

I hope Afghanistan shares a similar fate.

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.