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Movies / On DVD / The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner

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The Kite Runner (2007)

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Reviews Counted: 165

Fresh: 109

Rotten:56

Average Rating: 6.5/10

Consensus: Despite some fine performances, The Kite Runner is just shy of rendering the magic of the novel on to the big screen.

Rated: 12A

Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins 51 secs

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:26-12-2007

Synopsis: Based on the international bestseller by Khaled Hosseini, THE KITE RUNNER is a fascinating historical epic set in 20th-century Afghanistan. In 1978, Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan... Based on the international bestseller by Khaled Hosseini, THE KITE RUNNER is a fascinating historical epic set in 20th-century Afghanistan. In 1978, Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) are young boys living in Kabul, where Hassan and his father, Ali (Nabi Tanha), work as servants for Amir and his father, Baba (Homayoun Ershadi). Amir and Hassan make an excellent team in kite competitions, with Hassan having a gift for running down kites, but after one contest, he is bullied by Assef (Elham Ehsas), who does unspeakable things to him as Amir watches from a distance and then runs away, not helping his friend. As the Russians and then the Taliban take over Afghanistan, Baba and Amir escape to America, where they make a new home in San Francisco. But even as he graduates from college and meets a beautiful young woman, Soraya (Atossa Leoni), who is also from Kabul, Amir (now played by Khalid Abdalla) is haunted by his cowardice and can't turn down an opportunity to try to make things right when it is offered by his father's old friend Rahim Khan (Shaun Toub)--even if it means risking his life. THE KITE RUNNER was adapted for the screen by David Benioff (THE 25TH HOUR), with much of the dialogue spoken in Dari, one of the primary languages in Afghanistan. Director Marc Foster (MONSTER'S BALL, FINDING NEVERLAND) does a deft job navigating the complicated story, which moves from Afghanistan to San Francisco and Pakistan (with much of the film actually shot in China), using many nonprofessional actors and a subtle score composed by Alberto Iglesias. Ebrahimi and Mahmoodzada make impressive debuts, with solid work by Abddalla, Leoni, and especially Ershadi. [More]

Starring: Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi, Shaun Toub, Atossa Leoni

Starring: Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi, Shaun Toub, Atossa Leoni, Said Tashimaoui, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada

Director: Marc Forster

Director: Marc Forster
Screenwriter: David Benioff
Producer: William Horberg, Walter Parkes, Rebecca Yeldham, E. Bennett Walsh
Composer: Alberto Iglesias
Studio: Paramount Vantage

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Reviews for The Kite Runner

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Perhaps he might have been tougher but that might have rendered the film less digestible.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
12/28/07
Derek Malcolm
This is London

Based on Khaled Hosseini's highly regarded novel, this story of exile, ambition and betrayal has an emotional power that outstrips its occasional implausibilities.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
12/28/07
Anthony Quinn
Independent

The measured mise-en-scène is fine for the boyhood scenes. Character-building alternates with brief bursts of image music, such as the kite-flying contest that fills the Kabul sky with darting, colourful fabric-birds.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
12/28/07
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

There's something timid and tasteful about the filmmaking which struck me as pretty mendacious, in a story about a blood bond severed by rape and mended, a generation on, by a rather too tidy act of atonement.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
12/28/07
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A cracking final 20 minutes leave you realising what an evil bunch of idiots the Taliban really are.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
12/28/07
Sun Online
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A workmanlike, if decaffeinated version of Khaled Hosseini's bestselling novel.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
12/28/07
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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The third of the film given to the boys’ childhood adventures is excellent, both kids fully convincing as pals who’ll never part.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
12/28/07
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

An enthralling piece of cinema.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
12/28/07
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Showcasing a welcome lack of big-budget attitude, The Kite Runner makes up for its small flaws with an engaging, thought-provoking story and a willingness to tackle some very dark issues.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
12/28/07
Saxon Bullock
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film deftly spans the cruelty of Afghan history, from the Soviet invasion to Taliban desolation.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
12/28/07
Matt Mueller
Total Film

Forster takes few liberties with Hosseini's novel: it's a straightforward, anadorned adaptation with the much of the dialogue in Persian and a capable non-starry cast.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
12/28/07
Elliott Noble
Sky Movies

The film’s belief in the power of redemption and its subtle assertion of the need for moral courage in personal (or political) conflict, is never allowed to get in the way of its boldly told, intelligent, informed and affecting story.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
12/28/07
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Impressively directed and superbly written, this is a moving emotional drama with strong performances from its two young leads.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
12/27/07
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

An engaging melodrama whose less convincing plot points are superseded by some astonishingly affecting performances from the mostly unknown cast.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/26/07
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
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Whilst some of the vivid detail in Khalid Hosseini's best-selling novel does get lost in translation, director Marc Forster hits all the emotional high notes.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/18/07
Stella Papamichael
BBC
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Adapted for the screen with sensitivity by Benioff and Forster, drawing raw performances from the cast.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/12/07
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

The film retains the novel's universal elements, but some of the political specifics get lost in translation

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/20/07
Tim Grierson
Screen International

...a good but not classic movie of a good but not classic novel.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
03/13/09
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
10/18/08
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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