The Kite Runner (2007)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Marc Forster

Writers (WGA):

David Benioff (screenplay)
Khaled Hosseini (novel)

Release Date:

26 December 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

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:

Friend | Afghanistan | Kite | California | Pakistan

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 13 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 9	10:00 PM	TMC
Tue. Nov. 17	12:45 PM	TMC
Tue. Nov. 17	11:35 PM	TMC

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

Also Known As:

Cometas en el cielo (Argentina) (Mexico) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
Les cerfs-volants de Kaboul (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Drachenläufer (Germany) [de]
Drage løberen (Denmark) [da]
Drageløberen (Denmark) [da]
Drageløperen (Norway) [no]
Flyga drake (Sweden) [sv]
Hartaetoi pano ap' tin poli (Greece) [el]
Il cacciatore di aquiloni (Italy) [it]
Kimi no tame nara sen kai demo (Japan) [ja]
Leijapoika (Finland) [fi]
Lohelennutaja (Estonia) [et]
O Caçador de Pipas (Brazil) [pt]
Uçurtma avcisi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

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:

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 Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | 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

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Author Khaled Hosseini mentions in the commentary at 63:01 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.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scene at the stadium just before the Taliban official gives his speech there is a soccer game going on and most of the players are wearing shorts. The Taliban did not allow shorts or revealing clothes of any kind to be worn, even at an athletic event. They imprisoned and persecuted members of visiting Pakistani teams for wearing shorts.

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]

Movie Connections:

Features The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Soundtrack:

Asta Bero

And the Oscar goes to ...

The Kite Runner should win an Oscar! It's perfect in every sense, the story, the script, the acting, the cinematography... One would never guess it was filmed in China. The story of two childhood friends and what follows in their adult lives will leave a lasting impression. The depiction of life in Afghanistan under the Taliban is all too real and horrifying. I have not read the book, but I have seen comments that put down the movie because "the book is always better"... It doesn't really matter. No one put down "Gone With The Wind" because it wasn't true to the book! As a matter of fact, it won the Academy Award for best picture and several other Oscars. I think this movie is brilliant - BRAVO to the writer and director, and the actors!