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How long has it been since you saw a movie that succeeds as pure story? That doesn't depend on stars, effects or genres, but simply fascinates you with how it will turn out? Marc Forster 's "The Kite Runner," based on a much-loved novel, is a movie like that. It superimposes human faces and a historical context on the tragic images of war from Afghanistan.

The story begins with boys flying kites. It is the city of Kabul in 1978, before the Russians, the Taliban, the Americans and the anarchy. Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) joins with countless other boys in filling the sky with kites; sometimes they dance on the rooftops while dueling, trying to cut other kite strings with their own. Amir's friend is Hassan ( Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada ), the son of the family's longtime servant Ali, who has been with them for years and has become like family himself. Hassan is the best kite runner in the neighborhood, correctly predicting when a kite will return to earth and waiting there to retrieve it.

The boys live in a healthy, vibrant city, not yet touched by war. Amir's father, Baba ( Homayoun Ershadi ), is an intellectual and secularist who has no use for the mullahs. Baba, whose kindly eyes are benevolent, loves both boys.

There is a neighborhood bully named Assef, jealous of Amir's kite, his skills and his kite runner. On a day that will shape the course of many lives, he and his gang track down Hassan, attack him and rape him. Amir arrives to see the assault taking place, and to his shame, sneaks away.

Then a curious chemistry takes place. Amir feels so guilty about Hassan that his feelings transform into anger, and he tries insulting his friend, even throwing ripe fruit at him, but Hassan is impassive. Then Amir tries to plant evidence to make Hassan seem like a thief, but even after Hassan (untruthfully and masochistically) confesses, Baba forgives him. It is Hassan's father, Ali, who insists he and his son must leave the home, over Baba's protests.

The film has opened with the modern-day Amir, now living in San Francisco, receiving a telephone call from Rahim Khan: "You should come home. There is a way to be good again." Then commences a remarkable series of old memories and new realities, of the present trying to heal the wounds of the past, of an adult trying to repair the damage he set in motion as a boy. For if he had not lied about Hassan, they would all be together in San Francisco and the telephone call would not have been necessary.

Working from Khaled Hosseini's best seller, Forster and his screenwriter David Benioff have made a film that sidesteps the emotional disconnects we often feel when a story moves between past and present. This is all the same story, interlaced with the fabric of these lives. There is also a touching sequence as Amir and his father, now older and ill, meet a once-powerful Afghan general and his daughter Soraya (Atossa Leoni). For Amir and Soraya, it is instant love, but protocol must be observed, and one of the movie's warmest scenes involves the two old men discussing the future of their children. I want to mention once again the eyes, indeed the whole face, of the actor Homayoun Ershadi, as Amir's father; here is a face so deeply good, it is difficult to imagine it reflecting unworthy feelings.

What happens back in Afghanistan (and Pakistan) in the year 2000 need not be revealed here, but the scenes combine great suspense with deep emotion. One emblematic moment: A soccer game where the audience, all men and all oddly silent, is watched by guards with rifles. The film works so deeply on us because we have been so absorbed by its story, by its destinies, by the way these individuals become so important that we are forced to stop thinking of "Afghans" as simply a category of body counts on the news.

The movie is acted largely in English, although many (subtitled) scenes are in Dari, which I learn is an Afghan dialect of Farsi, or Persian. The performances by the actors playing Amir and Hassan as children are natural, convincing and powerful; recently I have seen several such child performances that adults would envy for their conviction and strength. Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, as young Hassan, is particularly striking, with his serious, sometimes almost mournful face. (The boy now fears Afghan reprisals for appearing in the rape scene, and the producers have helped to relocate him.)

One of the areas in which the movie succeeds is in its depiction of kite flying. Yes, it uses special effects, but they function to represent what freedom and exhilaration the kites represent to their owners. I remember my own fierce identification with my own kites as a child. I was up there; I was represented. Yet there is a fundamental difference between the kite flyer (Amir) and the kite runner (Hassan). Perhaps that sad wisdom in Hassan's eyes comes from his certainty that all must fall to earth, sooner or later.

This is a magnificent film by Marc Forster, now 38, who since " Monster's Ball " (2001) has made " Finding Neverland " (2004), " Stay " (2005) and " Stranger Than Fiction " (2006). All fine work, but "The Kite Runner" equals "Monster's Ball" in its emotional impact. Like " House of Sand and Fog " and " Man Push Cart ," it helps us to understand that the newcomers among us come from somewhere and are somebody.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

The Kite Runner (2007)

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

128 minutes

Khalid Abdalla as Amir

Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada as Young Hassan

Homayoun Ershadi as Baba

Nabi Tanha as Ali

Elham Ehsas as Young Assef

Directed by

Marc Forster
David Benioff

Based on the novel by

Khaled Hosseini

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The Kite Runner Reviews

The Kite Runner examines and explores such complex emotions and relationships that are worth the journey in itself.

Full Review | Jul 22, 2023

The deviation from standard structuring is just one more element that is terribly predictable.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Nov 26, 2020

Fundamentally out of focus. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 4, 2020

It is easily one of 2007's most inspiring and rewarding cinematic experiences.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 13, 2020

A shockingly bungled opportunity for greatness and quite possibly the most disappointing film of 2007.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 6, 2019

Forster can't solely blame the impossibility of condensing the breadth of a 350-page novel into two hours of screen time, but his own shoddy realisation too.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 5, 2018

The Kite Runner serves as a reminder that grief is universal; that, regardless of our cultural differences, humanity will always find common ground in devastation.

Full Review | Aug 24, 2018

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 17, 2011

A remarkable story with tremendous human interest, about people we think we've figured out, but about whom we actually know next to nothing.

Full Review | Apr 28, 2011

Faked compassion, bland visuals, metaphors dropped like anvils

Full Review | Aug 27, 2009

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

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Mar 13, 2009

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Oct 18, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 18, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 18, 2008

Entirely too epic for its own good.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 2, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 7, 2008

Forster na synehizei na psahnei ti Hora toy Pote stin paramythenia Kampoyl toy protoy meroys, prin perasei sto deytero kommati tis istorias, opoy i prospatheia toy Afganoy metanasti na brei thesi sto Neo Kosmo kai bima na pei tis istories toy, ginetai syn

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | May 6, 2008

Es un poco inevitable sentir que la pelcula transcurre casi como un trmite, sin permitirle al espectador una aproximacin mucho ms sensible a la historia.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 22, 2008

A skilfully made and subtly powerful film, with a disarmingly human protagonist whose efforts seem all the more real, given his weaknesses and the movie's authentic feel.

Full Review | Original Score: 77/100 | Apr 9, 2008

The Kite Runner will no doubt warm the hearts of its intended audience, but its nature is one of dubious flattery.

Full Review | Original Score: D+ | Mar 25, 2008

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The kite runner.

Director Marc Forster's highly effective and straightforward adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's international best-seller "The Kite Runner" already has garnered news because of a rape scene involving one of its young actors.

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This review was written for the theatrical release of “The Kite Runner.”

Director Marc Forster’s highly effective and straightforward adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s international best-seller “The Kite Runner” already has garnered news because of a rape scene involving one of its young actors. That has resulted in a delay of its theatrical release. But the controversy aside, the film is a faithful rendition of a beloved book that should garner critical and award recognition and the attention of discerning audiences.

The story is told in three distinct sections. The first, set in 1978 Afghanistan, concerns the fateful friendship of two young boys: Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi), who lives with his sophisticated, well-heeled widower father Baba (Homayoun Ershadi), and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada), the son of his father’s faithful servant. The two 12-year-olds share a close bond, thanks to their common love of American action movies and kite flying.

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Review: ‘The Kite Runner’ Trips From Page to Stage

Amir Arison stars as a guilt-ridden Afghan refugee brooding over a childhood friendship in a stiff adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel.

By Maya Phillips

Unsurprisingly, the most memorable image in “ The Kite Runner ,” which opened at the Helen Hayes Theater on Thursday night, is of the kites. They’re miniature, attached to thin poles that several actors wave, white tissue-paper flitting, birdlike, over their heads. The paper crinkles as the kites part the air with a soft swish.

If only the rest of this stiff production, adapted by Matthew Spangler from the popular 2003 novel by Khaled Hosseini, exuded such elegance.

A redemption story about an unlikable — sometimes downright despicable — protagonist, “The Kite Runner” opens in 2001, with Amir (Amir Arison), a Pashtun Afghan who explains that a cowardly decision he made at 12 years old shaped the person he is today.

He doesn’t tell us what it was immediately; he steps back in time to show us scenes of his life in Kabul, with his single father, Baba (Faran Tahir); their servant Ali (Evan Zes), a member of the oppressed and harassed Hazara minority group; and Ali’s son, Hassan (Eric Sirakian). The rest of the cast of 13 fills in as other figures in Amir’s life, including his future wife, Russian soldiers, and various nameless characters from the Afghan community on both sides of the world.

Arison (who plays the preteen Amir as well throughout) reads to the illiterate Hassan, though not without mocking him for it. He lets Hassan take the fall when they get in trouble. Yet Hassan faithfully partners with Amir in a competitive game where kite owners maneuver and use coated or sharpened strings to cut their competitors out of the sky; runners chase and catch the fallen kites as a prize.

When Amir fails to stop an act of violence against Hassan, the boys’ friendship is irreparably damaged. Hassan never truly leaves Amir, though; he carries the guilt to America, to which he and Baba escape after Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan ushers in the vicious regime of the Taliban. After finding love and a successful career, Amir eventually returns to his homeland to redeem himself from his past transgressions.

“The Kite Runner” was first staged in 2007 at San Jose State University, and went on to play throughout England, eventually on the West End. For the Broadway engagement, producers turned to Arison, an Off Broadway regular who had a supporting role for nearly a decade on NBC’s “The Blacklist.”

Under Giles Croft’s direction, Arison’s Broadway debut proves spotty. He recites his opening lines with the stiffness of a child delivering a book report, and never totally eases into the role.

The part would be tough work for any actor; Amir is onstage for the entire show, and the transitions between his middle-aged and younger selves, some three decades apart, require the kind of gymnastics that not every performer can stick.

Not to mention the challenge of the character himself: a cowardly, insecure boy who becomes a cowardly, insecure man despite a childhood bolstered by the unfaltering love and loyalty of his friend Hassan, played with heartbreaking innocence by Sirakian.

It’s easier in the novel to ride the twists and turns of Amir’s journey, even as he leaves Hassan behind in the first third of the story. Onstage the play shuffles along, and it’s hard to stay invested in this unpalatable hero with Hassan in the rearview mirror.

For those who haven’t read “The Kite Runner” or seen the 2007 film, I won’t spoil the violent scene that causes the rift between the two friends, but it’s one that feels jarring in what otherwise reads like a tidy parable. Gasps of surprise from the audience signaled the sudden shock of real-world horror.

Again, part of that isn’t negotiable, since the emotionally pandering novel is the show’s DNA. But Croft’s mechanical direction often plays up the pathos, as when a character dies too dramatically, or in a scene where Amir prays for a loved one to be spared. Then there’s the phlegm-inducing serving of cheese, when Amir finds himself in 1981 San Francisco: Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” plays as characters in gaudy ’80s duds traipse across the stage throwing out random decade-appropriate nouns like “Prince,” “Pac-Man” and “Darth Vader.”

For “The Kite Runner” to work, the boys’ nemesis needs to be formidable, but Spangler’s script diminishes Assef (Amir Malaklou), the childhood bully. He is no longer the novel’s sociopathic neo-Nazi, but more of an antagonist from an after-school special — with a shaky accent.

Speaking of shaky, Barney George’s set design — which includes a stage-length vert ramp seemingly borrowed from a skate park and jagged rectangular panels lined up along the back wall — is frustratingly ambiguous. Two giant fabric sails occasionally descend from on high, resembling wings of a kite, but they are mostly distracting.

William Simpson’s projection design provides a dose of whimsy, however, the watercolor renderings of a kite-filled sky or a pomegranate tree lending a fanciful storybook quality to the script.

Legitimacy is always a tricky question when it comes to productions about people of color. That a story about the struggles of Afghans over the course of nearly three decades is on Broadway is a feat in itself, as is the cast of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent.

Chunks of dialogue are spoken in a Farsi dialect (all credit to the cultural adviser and script consultant Humaira Ghilzai) and much of the underscoring features the tuneful plinks and thumps of the tabla player Salar Nader, a steady presence on one side of the stage and one of the production’s gems. (Jonathan Girling wrote the evocative music.)

Still, “The Kite Runner” is not nearly as rich as the spate of Off Broadway plays that have recently explored the individual and national losses faced by Iran and Afghanistan, including Sylvia Khoury’s “Selling Kabul” and Sanaz Toossi’s “English” and “Wish You Were Here.” As Off Broadway has often proved, there are more compelling ways to tell a story.

The Kite Runner Through Oct. 30 at the Hayes Theater, Manhattan; thekiterunnerbroadway.com . Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Maya Phillips is a critic at large. She is the author of the poetry collection “Erou” and “NERD: Adventures in Fandom From This Universe to the Multiverse,” forthcoming from Atria Books. More about Maya Phillips

The Kite Runner (2007)

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The Kite Runner Review

26 Dec 2007

128 minutes

Kite Runner, The

Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner was one of those word-of-mouth print hits, just challenging enough, yet just populist enough, to win over reading groups on either side of the Atlantic. Still, it’s not exactly what any right-minded person would call enjoyable, and given that much of the action occurs in Afghanistan, with a pivotal scene involving child rape, it’s surprising that it ever made it to the big screen.

Not only that, but scripter David Benioff (25th Hour, Troy) has proven largely faithful to Hosseini’s work - although you’d expect a delicate handling of the material given that much was based on the author’s own experiences.

Perhaps ‘delicate’ is the wrong word, though. Both the source and its adaptation are frustratingly heavy-handed at points. The story feels too contingent on coincidence, too tidy for something which presents such a complex, messed-up situation as the ethnic divisions in pre- and post-Soviet Afghanistan. For the sake of neat parallels and clear dramatic echoes, what could be a big, sprawling story is boiled down to the interplay of just a handful of characters, all loose ends neatly tucked away.

Weirdly, this means that, in terms of Marc Forster movies, The Kite Runner has more in common with the pristine likes of Finding Neverland (even beyond the CG-assisted kite-flying scenes) or Stranger Than Fiction (with which it shares some tumbling fruit imagery) than it does with the scuzzy domestic gloom of Monster’s Ball. However, whichever genre he tackles - and Forster seems determined to match Peter Weir for genre-hoppery - he is, like Weir again, a master of finding the strong, warm pulse of humanity in any script through the performances he teases from his cast.

Whatever your ethical stance with regard to Forster’s choice to use real Afghan kids in the film (some of whose families fear them becoming pariahs in their less-than-tolerant homeland thanks to their involvement in the rape scene), there’s no denying the power of their turns. As the young Amir, the son of one of monarchist-era Afghanistan’s wealthier businessmen, Zekeria Ebrahimi emanates an intelligence and sensitivity that belies his age, transforming what could be inexplicable actions into somehow understandable responses to horrific events. As his best-friend Hassan, a lower-class ‘Hazara’ Afghan, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada is guaranteed to get tears welling. Bold and loyal to the point of self-sacrifice, the character could easily have come across as an unrealistic ideal, but due to Mahmidzada he’s heart-achingly convincing.

The adult cast is just as good. Khalid Abdalla portrays the grown-up Amir as a quiet, contemplative soul who’s forced to confront both the phantoms of his past and, at one point, a very immediate, physical menace. But most memorable is Homayon Ershadi as Amir’s ‘Baba’, or father, an outspoken and (at times) ill-advisedly honourable fellow, who will sound off about the Mullahs being “bearded idiots” at one point, and at another toast a Cold War-era American bar with a hearty shout of, “Fuck the Russia!”

Movies | 04 01 2008

Movies | 07 08 2007

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The kite runner, common sense media reviewers.

Best seller-based drama has harrowing moments.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

A noble child sets an example for a more fearful b

Central plot element is a homosexual rape (both vi

Discussion of "giving" orphans to a loca

Language includes several uses of "f--k,&quot

References to U.S movies, like Bullitt, El Cid, Th

Frequent cigarette smoking, mostly by Amir's f

Positive Messages

A noble child sets an example for a more fearful boy. A single father is sometimes remote from his son, with high expectations. A childhood bully, Soviet troops, and Taliban members are all cruel and visibly odious. Very little attention is paid to women's lives under both traditional Afghani custom and extreme Taliban rule.

Violence & Scariness

Central plot element is a homosexual rape (both victim and perpetrator are adolescent boys), briefly indicated by close-ups of a belt being unbuckled, pants pulled down, and the victim's face pressed against the ground. He looks frightened and pained, and his blood drips on the snow as he walks away. A bully threatens younger boys, a child uses a slingshot, and a boy throws pomegranates at his friend. War scenes include explosions, tanks, and soldiers with guns. A hanged man visible in the street, and kids throw rocks at each other. The Taliban stone a woman and man to death (mostly shown in long shot, but blood visible and it's very clear what's happening). Guns aimed at visitor. Fierce fistfight leaves participants bloodied and smashed. Hero appears with black eye, swollen face, and bloody face. Goat's head lies bloody in the dirt (cut off by Kabul butcher as part of routine preparation).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Discussion of "giving" orphans to a local Taliban leader (for sexual reasons that are hinted at, but not discussed in any detail) in order to save the remaining children.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language includes several uses of "f--k," plus occasional instances of "hell" and "goddamn." Derogatory/racist references to the "hazara" (who are from the Black Mountain of Hazara region and are mostly Shi'a muslims).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

References to U.S movies, like Bullitt , El Cid , The Magnificent Seven .

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Frequent cigarette smoking, mostly by Amir's father. Some drinking at parties and a bar; a child serves drinks to adults at a party.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that although this often-harrowing drama set primarily in Afghanistan focuses on children's experiences, the themes are mature. Children are repeatedly in peril, and there's a disturbing, though not explicit, scene in which a young boy is raped by older boys (close-ups of faces and a belt being unbuckled indicate what's going on). Several scenes show warfare (explosions, gunfire, bloody bodies) during the Soviet invasion; others depict Taliban oppression (a public stoning, beatings, taunting of civilians). One hanged body is visible on the street. A brief tirade features several uses of "f--k" in a row; other language includes "hell" and "damn." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

Parents say (4)
Kids say (6)

Based on 4 parent reviews

Very good but beware

Should be rated a 15., what's the story.

Based on Khaled Hosseini's bestseller, THE KITE RUNNER opens in 2000 in San Francisco, where an adult Amir ( Khalid Abdalla ) has lived for years. Having left Afghanistan as a boy, Amir is still haunted by memories of Kabul. His distress is only enhanced when his father's friend calls to say that Amir should come home, since "there's a way to be good again." Amir goes, seeking redemption for a past the film illustrates in flashbacks to 1978, when he was a champion kite flyer. In these scenes, Amir lives a life of privilege but also some confusion, never quite pleasing his father and resenting his own best friend, Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada), a superb kite runner from a lower social class. When Hassan is raped by a trio of local bullies who deride his ethnicity and underclass status, Amir runs away instead of standing up for his friend. When the Soviets invade, Amir and his father escape to America. But Hassan remains behind, an emblem of Amir's lost innocence, homeland, and capacity to "be good." When Amir returns to Kabul as an adult, he seeks redemption by finding Hassan's son, reportedly captured by the Taliban.

Is It Any Good?

Like the source novel by Khaled Hosseini, Marc Forster 's film is frequently contrived and melodramatic. Yet it also focuses attention on the terrible consequences of war and tyranny. The film's brutal villains -- once someone's children, their "colors" filled in or not -- are stereotypical, at once homophobic and unhesitating to use homosexual rape as a weapon. But they're aided by essentially decent bystanders, who do nothing in the face of even the most personal instances of cruelty and abuse.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about why part of the story is told as a flashback, from a child's point of view. How does that change the impact of the story? Also, the young actors had to leave Afghanistan after making this film because of the homosexual rape scene. What do your kids think about what it means to take risks for art?

Movie Details

In theaters : December 13, 2007
On DVD or streaming : March 24, 2008
Cast : Homayoun Ershadi , Khalid Abdalla , Zekeria Ebrahimi
Director : Marc Forster
Inclusion Information : Middle Eastern/North African actors
Studio : Paramount Vantage
Genre : Drama
Run time : 122 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : strong thematic material including the rape of a child, violence and brief strong language.
Last updated : February 27, 2024

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The Kite Runner

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27 August 2008 11:57AM

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DVD & Streaming

The Kite Runner

Content caution.

In Theaters

Khalid Abdalla as Amir; Zekeria Ebrahami as Young Amir; Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada as Young Hassan; Homayon Ershadi as Baba; Atossa Leoni as Soraya; Shaun Toub as Rahim Kahn; Ali Dinesh as Sohrab

Home Release Date

Marc Forster

Distributor

Paramount Vantage

Movie Review

The Kite Runner brings Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling 2003 novel to the big screen. It’s a sweeping tale of friendship and loyalty, betrayal and redemption as a young man haunted by a horrible choice discovers, in the words of a wise friend, “There is a way to be good again.”

As the story opens, we watch through the eyes of Amir as kites dance in the sky above San Francisco Bay. Amir is a promising writer who has just published his first novel and gotten married. He has little time to enjoy that idyll, however, before an unexpected call from a family friend forces him to face the dark secret he’s run from since he was 12.

His memory drifts back in time to his childhood in Kabul, Afghanistan. The year is 1978, and Amir is the timid, bookish son of a fiercely independent, well-to-do man known as Baba. The boy spends carefree days with Hassan, the son of Baba’s lifelong servant, Ali.

All is well the day Amir and Hassan win a citywide kite-fighting competition. But when Hassan goes to retrieve a kite Amir has downed, he’s ambushed by an older bully named Assef. Assef pummels the smaller boy—then rapes him.

Amir secretly watches the assault and does nothing to defend his friend.

The result is a gulf of guilt Amir can’t cross. And he makes more choices that utterly separate him from his friend. He’s still grappling with shame the day Soviet invasion forces roll into Kabul and force him and his father to flee, first to Pakistan, then to California.

Regret stalks Amir as he grows up and as his father slowly succumbs to lung cancer. Then he’s given a shot at redemption when a friend of his father’s asks him to come to Pakistan. Why? Hassan’s son has fallen into the clutches of Taliban extremists.

[ The depth of this film’s themes, and the twists and turns it takes to reveal them require us to spoil a few plot points in this review. ]

Positive Elements

The Kite Runner is a heartrending story about redemption, atonement, coming to grips with one’s weaknesses and making amends for wrongs done. Amir makes a horrible choice as a boy when he refuses to defend Hassan. Then, years later, as an act of humble penance, he returns to his homeland to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab. That requires venturing into Taliban-held Kabul, and then a fortress controlled by that fanatically legalistic Muslim sect. Finally drumming up the courage he should have shown as a lad, Amir comes through for Sohrab, and he proceeds to raise him lovingly as his own son. (Hassan and the boy’s mother have both been killed.)

As children, Amir and Hassan are inseparable, disregarding class and ethnic divisions. What Hassan lacks in education, he makes up for with fierce courage. That courage earns the praise of Amir’s father, who wishes his own son could be more like his servant’s.

Hassan is also a model of loyalty. He tells Amir he would eat dirt for him—and his actions match his talk. Even as Amir distances himself from Hassan after the rape, the servant boy never falters in his devotion. And we learn that Hassan and his wife die because Hassan is unwilling to surrender Amir’s family property (which he has become a steward of in Amir’s absence). In a poignant letter to Amir which is read years after they’ve had any contact, we hear how Hassan longed for renewed relationship and prayed that his friend would know God’s good graces.

Other characters also extend grace at key moments. Amir’s father treats his timid boy with disdain early on, but he slowly learns how to affirm Amir and eventually gives his son’s writing career his blessing. He buys Hassan a kite for his birthday and forgives the boy when it seems he has stolen some of Amir’s property. Escaping from Afghanistan in a dark fuel tanker trunk, Baba tells Amir, “Don’t be afraid. I am right here with you.” He proves his mettle when he courageously risks his life by standing up to a Soviet officer.

Years later, Sohrab’s actions mirror Baba’s when he stands up to his Taliban tormentor.

Amir’s wife, Soraya, supports her husband’s writing. She chooses to tell the truth about a relationship she’s had before they get married. And the importance of telling the truth, it turns out, is also one of the film’s main messages. Another character who exhibits kindness is Baba’s friend Rahim, who encourages Amir to keep writing and praises his stories even when his father cannot do so. Further, Rahim tries to convince Amir that his father really does love him, even though he’s harsh at times.

Spiritual Elements

Perhaps in an effort to make the film more accessible to American audiences, the name of Allah is used infrequently; instead, Muslims simply refer to “God.” And despite the city and country in which he lives, Amir grows up in a secular home. His father believes in neither Islam nor Communism, saying, “Mullahs want to rule our souls. The Communists tell us we don’t have any.” He calls mullahs “self-righteous monkeys.”

Baba also shares an interesting perspective on sin. He tells Amir that the only sin is theft, and that all sin is a version of theft.

Rahim doesn’t buy into Baba’s secularism, and he repeatedly says, “If it be God’s will” (and variants thereof). Hassan and his father, Ali, are shown to be simple but devout Muslims. (They are part of a detested, marginalized ethnic minority of Shia Muslims known as the Hazara.) The film depicts Hassan’s faith as a significant shaping force. His letter to Amir praises “God the merciful and compassionate.”

It’s clear that Hassan’s faith has been passed down to his son when Sohrab goes to a mosque to pray. Amir follows, and ends up praying himself. A song during that scene speaks of God’s forgiveness, mercy, love and peace. It also mentions “peace and blessing for the prophet [Mohammed] and his family.”

On the other end of the spectrum, the Taliban are shown to be bloodthirsty, legalistic hypocrites. A group of them stones two adulteresses to death, for instance, yet behind closed doors they drink, smoke, listen to Western music and (it’s implied) sexually abuse children.

Sexual Content

Easily the most shocking scene comes when Assef and his henchboys find Hassan alone. The beating they administer is bad enough. But Assef then informs Hassan that he’ll never forget this day, yanking the younger boy’s pants down (we briefly glimpse underwear) and pinning him to the ground. It’s then visually implied that the bigger boy rapes Hassan, who painfully limps home afterwards. Droplets of blood on the snow confirm what happened. Amir arrives just as the assault is beginning, and watches, hidden, from a distance.

Years later, Sohrab has been taken by a Taliban general from an orphanage, and it’s implied that the boy is being sexually abused by him. The orphanage owner tells Amir that this Taliban general regularly comes for young girls and boys, and that most of the children are never seen again. When Amir confronts the man for prostituting the children, the orphanage owner replies that it’s better for one to be taken than for many to be punished. And that he uses the money given him to buy the other children food.

Another sexually oriented scene involves a Soviet officer demanding half an hour with a new mother in exchange for letting a truck full of fleeing Afghans pass. Baba stands up to the man, saying, “Where is your shame?” The officer replies, “There is no shame in war.” Willing to sacrifice his life to protect the woman, Baba counters, “War doesn’t negate decency.”

An affair is talked about.

Violent Content

Beyond the sexual violence perpetrated, two women, who are covered from head to toe, are brought to a public soccer match to be stoned for adultery. Taliban men graphically execute this dark deed, and we see rocks hit them and bloody stains spreading on the women’s garments as they lie dying.

A fight between the Taliban and Amir breaks out, and Amir ends up on the receiving end of fists and feet. He gets thrown into walls and the floor, and his face is badly bloodied. Sohrab then shoots the general in the eye with his slingshot, triggering a daring escape amid machine-gun fire.

Crude or Profane Language

At an American bar, Baba exclaims in broken English, “F— the Russia!” The phrase is repeated in unison by amused patrons. Assef uses the sexual slur “f-ggot” twice to describe Amir and Hassan. There are also two uses each of “g–d–n” and “p—” in this mostly subtitled movie.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Baba drinks and smokes frequently—which leads to terminal lung cancer. Baba takes Amir to a bar for a drink when the young man graduates from college, buying a round for everyone. Several scenes depict people drinking wine and beer at parties and at Amir’s wedding.

Other Negative Elements

Surrounded by shame, Amir begins to treat Hassan meanly, including throwing rotten fruit at him and calling him a coward. Amir then plants his watch under his friend’s pillow and accuses him of stealing it. Hassan dutifully admits to the crime, and the boy and his father leave Baba’s employment because of it.

Amir believes that his father “hates him” because Amir’s mother died while giving birth to him. Assef persecutes Hassan in part because of his Hazara heritage.

The Kite Runner is one of those films that leaves you emotionally reeling while, paradoxically, filling you with hope and gratitude. I think it would be nearly impossible not to reflect on your own relationships and the places you’ve failed—and need grace as well—after watching this movie.

The path to those ends is unquestionably wrenching. Amir’s betrayal of his friend is heartbreaking—all the more because Hassan’s loyalty never wavers. And that, in turn, makes Amir’s willingness to risk his life to save Sohrab all the more poignant. We see that forgiveness, change and freedom are not just possible, but that they are the only way life can continue.

We also see Hassan being raped. Though the scene is not explicit by today’s theatrical standards, there’s certainly enough implied and briefly shown to more than suggest what’s happening—which raises a significant question: Should child actors ever be asked to participate in scenes that suggest such brutality? And should moviegoers ever be asked to watch?

The young actor who played Hassan claims he would have answered those questions with a clear “No!” had he known ahead of time what was to happen to his character. Twelve-year-old Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada said of his role, “They didn’t give me the script. They didn’t give me the story of the kite runner. If I knew about the story, I wouldn’t have participated as an actor in this film.”

As word about this painful scene began to leak out, the actor and his family became concerned that fellow Afghans would believe the rape actually occurred. “The people of Afghanistan do not understand that it’s only acting or playing a role in a film. They think it has actually happened,” Mahmidzada told the Associated Press. “It’s not one or two people that I have to explain to. It’s all of Afghanistan. How do I make them understand? We won’t be able to walk in our neighborhood or Afghanistan at all.” A former Afghan ambassador to the United States underscored the seriousness of the actor’s concerns, telling slate.com , “To be raped or to be gay over there—it’s unfortunately absolutely unacceptable.”

Worries over Mahmidzada’s safety eventually caused Paramount Vantage to delay The Kite Runner ‘s release. And to take the significant step of moving all four Afghan boys who star in it to Dubai until after the film’s opening.

Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

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Movie Review: The Kite Runner

The following movie review is from /Film correspondent Elaine Mak.

The Kite Runner, directed by Marc Forster, follows the story of two childhood friends, Amir and Hassan, as they are torn apart after Amir witnesses the rape of Hassan. This film, based on the best-selling novel by Khaled Hosseini, begins in Kabul, Afghanistan, with the country on the verge of war. Following the rape incident, upper-class Amir leaves for America with his father, while lower-class Hassan remains in Kabul. Decades later, Amir is persuaded to return to Afghanistan during the Taliban rule to face his past.

I hadn't read the book before I saw the film, so going into it, I had no idea what to expect. This might not have been an issue for someone who knew the story going in, but my first impression of the film was that it was very difficult telling young Amir from Hassan, because both looked very similar to me. The acting in the film is weak, especially from the child actors, but the adult actors do come across a bit stronger. The story starts off a little slow and picks up after the pivotal kite-fighting scene.

Towards the end of the film, I felt as if there was too much material crammed into one movie, and each scene felt like it was rushing to get to the next one. In addition, the individual scenes don't seem to fit together very well, and it feels as if each piece could have been better as its own story. My biggest problem with this film is that it reveals too much information, treating the viewer as if he isn't capable of making sense of exposition on his own. On a good note, I did find it very interesting to witness a piece of Afghan culture though the film.

Overall, I found The Kite Runner to be an interesting concept with a poorly adapted screenplay and a weakly directed film.

/Film Rating: 4/10

Kite Runner, The (United States, 2007)

When a movie is made based on a book that millions of people have read, the first question asked often pertains to the faithfulness of the resultant cinematic product to its written inspiration. In the case of The Kite Runner , director Marc Forster and screenwriter David Benioff have taken pains to provide the best screen representation possible of Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel. Time constraints have forced some changes and contractions but, on the whole, it's hard to imagine a more effective and affecting adaptation. The Kite Runner touches the heart and the mind - something increasingly rare in any movie not made with the express intention of winning Oscars. ( The Kite Runner , it should be mentioned, will be in the running in several categories.)

As the many who have read the book are aware, this is a tale of betrayal, cowardice, and redemption. It's about a boy who commits a terrible injustice but is given an opportunity as a man to redress his sins in a direct way. Would that all of us were provided with such a chance… (Although, to be fair, most of our iniquities pale in comparison with those displayed in The Kite Runner .) The film shows the amazing capacity human beings have both to harm and to heal. By setting this in pre-9/11 Afghanistan, the production provides the viewer with a gut-level perspective of how repressive the Taliban was.

The film begins in the era before the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Boyhood friends Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) are inseparable despite their class differences - Amir is the son of a wealthy landowner and Hassan is the son of a servant. Such things matter little to the boys. However, Amir's father, Baba (Homayon Ershadi), is concerned about his son. He sees in Amir a child who will not stand up for himself or what is right. Hassan, however, will not back down despite his diminutive size. Baba's concerns are proven valid when Amir sees an act of violence perpetrated on Hassan by local bullies, but does not act. Later, he seeks to relieve the guilt not by seeking forgiveness but by acting deceitfully to get Hassan dismissed from his father's service.

More than 20 years later, Amir (Khalid Abdalla) is a newly-minted author living in California with his wife, Soraya (Atossa Leoni). He receives a call from an old friend, Rahim Kahn (Shaun Toub), who urges him to return to Afghanistan. Amir is initially reluctant but eventually agrees. What he learns when he arrives not only shakes the steady foundations of his sense of family but forces him to undertake a risky mission as a way of repaying his debt to Hassan, who never once blamed Amir for turning his back.

One of the great strengths of The Kite Runner is that it doesn't fake or sugarcoat anything. It doesn't demand a leap of faith to accept these characters and their circumstances, and the emotional journey of Amir is something that, at its core, is easily related to. Guilt and redemption are universal themes, and they are handled in a manner that even cynics will find compelling. The movie is not littered with perfect victims - every character harbors shades of gray - and sentiment is kept to a minimum. The Kite Runner is a well-told story, not an exercise in manipulation. That's one thing that differentiates it from many high profile motion pictures working with similar themes.

For the most part, the young actors are working on their first project in front of the camera, and their performances are without awkwardness or artifice. The older performers have more substantive resumes, although many will be unfamiliar to U.S. viewers. Khailid Abdalla was one of the terrorists in United 93 and Shaun Toub has provided supporting portrayals in a number of movies and TV programs. From an acting perspective, the standout is Homayon Ershadi, whose interpretation of Baba humanizes and softens the character from his counterpart in the book. It's a forceful and moving portrayal and, if any acting nominations emerge from The Kite Runner , Ershadi would be the most likely.

Verisimilitude is a key attribute in The Kite Runner . While circumstances prevented filming from taking place in the country, Marc Forster utilized Chinese locations that are virtually indistinguishable from their Afghanistan counterparts. The Kite Runner establishes a distinct place and time, enveloping the viewer and drawing him (or her) in. The overall experience is immersive. At times brutal, at times touching, the movie stands out as one of the better "prestige" productions offered for cinematic consumption during the waning weeks of 2007.

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The Kite Runner Parent Guide

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, a young boy and his father fled the country. Now an adult and an author, Amir (Khalid Abdullah) returns to his childhood home hoping to find and help old friends.

Release date December 13, 2007

Run Time: 128 minutes

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

If you leave this film feeling even slightly uncomfortable, then Director Marc Forster has done his job. Based on a novel by Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner is a story of the havoc of war, told from a personal and a societal perspective.

Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) lives in relative wealth in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul. His father (Homayoun Ershadi), a widower since the death of his wife in childbirth, is an outspoken leader in the community whose beliefs often put his own safety at risk. Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada), one of the family’s young servants, becomes a faithful and dedicated friend to Amir. Together, the two boys scour the city streets in search of adventure. But, Hassan’s ethnic background makes him the target of abuse from a group of older teens who eventually rape the boy when he refuses to denounce his loyalty to Amir.

However before Amir is ready to face up to Hassan, Communists descend on the country and eventually the encroaching Russian armies send the young boy and his father fleeing from the city to preserve their lives. It is only years later, as an adult living in America, that Amir is finally given a chance to atone for his mistake.

Strong performances, especially from the child actors, show the resilience of youth despite horrific circumstances. Other characters in the film also display heroic attempts to protect the vulnerable and abandoned. Every day, an orphanage operator is faced with sickening decisions as he attempts to save as many children as possible from the Taliban who have replaced the Russians as the governing force in the nation.

Unfortunately, as the partially subtitled film’s carnage and cruelty rise so does the content level. In addition to the violation of Hassan, there is discussion of other children who are sexually abused. After stopping a truck of fleeing citizens at the border, a soldier attempts to assault a young woman in front of her husband. Later, another woman, accused of adultery, is publicly stoned in a stadium full of spectators while her sexual partner remains unscathed. Along the way, others are brutally beaten or shot as the region is decimated by conflict. With so many disturbing events, parents might want to preview this film before allowing their older children to see it.

Still, the conflict is one that refuses to be ignored. Beginning with individuals who act courageously in the face of danger, their deeds are a spot of hope for a country ravaged by atrocities.

About author

Kerry Bennett

The kite runner rating & content info.

Why is The Kite Runner rated PG-13? The Kite Runner is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for strong thematic material including the rape of a child, violence and brief strong language

A young boy’s life in Afghanistan is rocked when older boys rape him (shown without explicit details). Dialogue contains the discussion of other child abuse as well. Children, some of who have amputated limbs, are bullied, beaten or accused of crimes they did not commit. In a sports stadium full of people, a woman is publicly stoned to death, her blood-spattered body dumped into a truck. In two bloody scenes, an adult male is severely beaten and another character is shot in the eye with a slingshot. There are frequent depictions of guns and guards in war zones. Adult characters frequently smoke and drink. Bloody decapitated animal heads are seen lying in the streets. One use of an extreme sexual expletive is used along with infrequent profanities.

Page last updated May 1, 2020

The Kite Runner Parents' Guide

Why does Amir’s father consider theft to be the one great sin? How does he connect it to other crimes?

How does Amir’s personality differ from Hassan’s? How does Amir’s father feel about his son’s interest in writing? What strengths does each boy possess? How does Hassan deal with his position in life?

How do the virtues of forgiveness, atonement and resilience play into the film’s script?

The most recent home video release of The Kite Runner movie is March 24, 2008. Here are some details…

DVD Release Date: 25 March 2008

The Kite Runner sails onto DVD with audio commentaries (by director Marc Foster, novel author Khaled Hosseini and screenplay writer David Benioff), three featurettes ( Words From The Kite Runner, Images From The Kite Runner and a Public Service Announcement With Khaled Hosseini ) and theatrical trailers. Audio tracks are available in Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 (English, French and Spanish), with subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

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‘The Kite Runner’ Broadway Review: Earnest Adaptation Of Beloved Novel Struggles To Soar

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The latest incarnation, adapted by Matthew Spangler, opens tonight at Broadway’s Hayes Theater under the direction of Giles Croft. Despite its heartfelt intentions and some impressive performances, The Kite Runner doesn’t improve in any significant way over The Kite Runner on screen. And it’s a whole lot talkier.

At times seeming more like an elaborately staged reading of the novel – an audio book come to life – than a fully realized play, The Kite Runner tells the story (and “tells” is the operative word) of Amir (winningly played by Amir Arison) over the course of a couple decades. When we first meet him, he’s a child of 1970s Kabul, the sensitive, poetry-loving son of a gruff, wealthy Pashtun patriarch (Faran Tahir). Baba, the father, loyally employs a longtime servant who is of the largely disdained Hazara ethnic group. The servant’s young son, Hassan (Eric Sirakian), is raised almost – almost – as a brother to Amir, and while the gulf between their social statuses is never far from mind, the two boys spend long hours, months and years of their childhoods as tight as siblings.

At least, that is, in the privacy of their home and gardens. In the neighborhood at large, the class distinction is more carefully followed. When a group of neighborhood bullies begins to target Hassan over his ethnicity, Amir can offer only the most superficial protection. And even that vanishes on the day that would change their lives forever.

The day in question begins in victory: young Amir has won a big neighborhood kite contest. No, not the kind of kite flying challenge remembered by American boys of the 1950s. The Kabul contest is take-no-prisoners combat, hands bloodied by gripped strings as the kites pick each other off in mid-air like some WWI biplane dogfight. Amir’s hardwon victory even raises the boy’s worthiness in the eyes of his father. For a while anyway.

But something else happens on that day that makes a mockery of Amir’s newfound self-perceived manliness. After Hassan runs off to retrieve the defeated kite set loose by Amir’s skills – Hassan is the kite runner of the title, loyally and honorably retrieving this little war’s spoils for his young master – that group of local toughs, headed by the sadistic Assef (Amir Malaklou) corners him in an alley and sexually brutalizes him. Unbeknownst to the traumatized Hassan, Amir has silently witnessed the rape, afraid to speak up in defense of his lifelong friend.

Overcome by a guilt he can not express, Amir ends his only friendship – today we’d say he ghosts Hassan – and, determined to expunge all trace of his betrayal, plants a stolen watch and money on Hassan in hopes that Abba will send the servants packing. Although Abba can’t bear to exile this favored boy – even those who haven’t read the book should be picking up on some heavy foreshadowing here – the servants choose to leave.

From there, The Kite Runner skips a bit more quickly through the years – the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 sends Amir and Baba off to San Francisco, where Amir eventually meets Soraya (Azita Ghanizada), another Afghan exile, and the two fall in love and eventually marry. First though, Soraya recites an account of her own troubled past in on of the play’s many discursive side-stories. As characters clash, get sick, die and talk about all of it, The Kite Runner begins to suggest that playwright Spangler just couldn’t bring himself to leave one page of the novel page unused.

Finally, redemption is offered Amir when word comes that he has a chance to make good on that long-ago betrayal: His old friend has a young son who has been kidnapped as a “Dancing Boy” by a particularly cruel Taliban fighter. In just one of the tale’s contrivances, the new villain isn’t so new.

Despite the play’s credulity-stretching, Arison does fine work as Amir, moving from boyhood to manhood convincingly, and Tahir’s Baba is hateful and relenting in equal measure, ultimately creating a sympathetic figure. The bully-turned-Taliban Assef may be a one-dimensional monster, but Malaklou plays it to the hilt. Ghanizada has the more difficult task of giving the mostly sidelined Soraya depth. She succeeds here and there.

Director Croft enlivens some scenes with ensemble movement – a traditional Muslim wedding (successfully) and an ’80s-era Frisco disco flashback (not so much) – but mostly lets these good actors do the talking, and talking. Barney George’s convincing period and culturally distinctive costumes serve the story well (Humaira Ghilzai is the production’s Cultural Advisor & Script Consultant), but his modest set design – mostly bare stage, picket-fence-style skylines looming in background silhouette – only contribute to the staged reading vibe.

The tale inevitably rests on the shoulders of actor Arison, and while he handles the twists and turns and sweetnesses and betrayals adeptly enough, his ultimate empowerment via a sudden, heretofore unexpressed interest in religion is neither credible nor dramatically satisfying. It’s barely even poetic justice. The boy he wronged all those years ago is not the boy he saves. His newfound heroism may not be too little, but it’s more than a little late.

The Kite Runner is produced by Victoria Lang, Ryan Bogner and Tracey McFarland of Broadway & Beyond Theatricals, Jayne Baron Sherman, Hunter Arnold, and in association with UK Productions Ltd. and Flying Entertainment Ltd/Kilimanjaro Group Ltd. Daryl Roth is the Executive Producer. Originally produced by Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, The Kite Runner opens tonight at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater and runs through Oct. 30.

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“The Kite Runner” Comes To State Theatre New Jersey

Drama about friendship: tabla player salar nader, in foreground, stars in “the kite runner,” a play based on the novel by khaled hosseini, coming to the state theatre new jersey may 3 and 4..

State Theatre New Jersey presents The Kite Runner , a play with music based on Khaled Hosseini’s internationally best-selling novel for two performances on Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. Salar Nader, the renowned musician who starred in the Broadway production, will reprise his role as tabla player for the tour. Tickets range from $70-$105.

The play tells a tale of friendship spanning cultures and continents, following one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption. Afghanistan is a divided country, and two childhood friends are about to be torn apart. It’s a beautiful afternoon in Kabul and the skies are full of the excitement and joy of a kite flying tournament. But neither of the boys can foresee the incident which will change their lives forever.

Originally published in 2003, Hosseini’s The Kite Runner became a bestseller across the globe and has since been published in 70 countries, selling 31.5 million copies in 60 languages. After being adapted for the stage, The Kite Runner originally premiered at the San Jose Repertory Theater in 2009. In 2013, Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse staged a new production in the U.K. In 2017, The Kite Runner returned to the stage in London’s West End for two limited engagements at Wyndham’s Theatre and the Playhouse Theatre. The Broadway production played a strictly limited run at the Hayes Theater in the summer of 2022.

The State Theatre New Jersey is at 15 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. Visit Stnj.org for tickets.

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Photos: First Look at the North American Tour of THE KITE RUNNER

The tour opened on April 9 at ASU Gammage in Tempe, AZ and will move on to nearly 20 cities.

All new photos have been released from the North American tour of THE KITE RUNNER, a play with music based on Khaled Hosseini’s internationally best-selling novel.

The tour opened on April 9 at ASU Gammage in Tempe, AZ and will move on to nearly 20 cities, including Chicago, IL and Washington, DC. Prior to the launch, the show returned home to San Jose, co-presented by EnActe Arts and the Hammer Theater, for 7 performances from April 3-7.

Starring in the tour is Ramzi Khalaf as Amir. The cast also features Raji Ahsan, Danish Farooqui, Shahzeb Zahid Hussain, Hassan Nazari-Robati, Haythem Noor, James Rana, Jonathan Shaboo, Fawad Siddiqui, Kevin Stevens, Wiley Naman Strasser, Awesta Zarif, Jade Ziane, and Sophie Zmorrod. They join Salar Nader, the renowned musician who dazzled audiences in the Broadway production, who was previously announced to be reprising his role as tabla artist for the tour.

The powerful stage production of THE KITE RUNNER tells a haunting tale of friendship spanning cultures and continents, following one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption. Afghanistan is a divided country, and two childhood friends are about to be torn apart. It’s a beautiful afternoon in Kabul and the skies are full of the excitement and joy of a kite flying tournament. But neither of the boys can foresee the incident which will change their lives forever. Told across two decades and two continents, THE KITE RUNNER is an unforgettable journey of forgiveness, and shows us all that we can be good again.

THE KITE RUNNER originally premiered at the San Jose Repertory Theater in 2009. In 2013, Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse staged a new production in the UK. In 2017, THE KITE RUNNER returned to the stage in London’s West End for two critically-lauded, limited engagements at Wyndham’s Theatre and the Playhouse Theatre. The much-anticipated Broadway production played a strictly limited run at the Hayes Theater in the summer of 2022.

THE KITE RUNNER is directed by Giles Croft and adapted by Matthew Spangler. The creative team includes Jonathan Girling (Composer and Musical Supervisor), Barney George (Scenic and Costume Design), Charles Balfour (Lighting Design), Drew Baumohl (Sound Design), William Simpson (Projection Design), Wojcik Casting Team (Casting Director), Kitty Winter (Movement Director), Damian Sandys (Associate Director), John Fortunato (Production Stage Manager) and James Latus (Production Supervisor). Humaira Ghilzai serves as Cultural Consultant and Dialect Coach.

THE KITE RUNNER is produced by Victoria Lang, Ryan Bogner and Tracey Stroock McFarland of Broadway & Beyond Theatricals, Jayne Baron Sherman, Hunter Arnold, and Kayla Greenspan in association with Martin Dodd for UK Productions Ltd., and Stuart Galbraith for Flying Entertainment Ltd/Kilimanjaro Group Ltd. Daryl Roth is the Executive Producer.

Photo Credit: Bekah Lynn Photography

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COMMENTS

The Kite Runner movie review & film summary (2007)
Marc Forster 's "The Kite Runner," based on a much-loved novel, is a movie like that. It superimposes human faces and a historical context on the tragic images of war from Afghanistan. The story begins with boys flying kites. It is the city of Kabul in 1978, before the Russians, the Taliban, the Americans and the anarchy.
The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner. Directed by Marc Forster. Drama. PG-13. 2h 8m. By Manohla Dargis. Dec. 14, 2007. Much like the best-selling novel on which it's based, "The Kite Runner" tells the story of ...
The Kite Runner
Growing up in Kabul, Amir and Hassan are inseparable friends. As an adult living in California, Amir remains haunted by a childhood incident in which he betrayed Hassan's trust. When he learns ...
The Kite Runner (2007)
The Kite Runner: Directed by Marc Forster. With Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub, Sayed Jafar Masihullah Gharibzada. After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.
The Kite Runner (film)
The Kite Runner is a 2007 American drama film directed by Marc Forster from a screenplay by David Benioff and based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Khaled Hosseini.It tells the story of Amir, a well-to-do boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul who is tormented by the guilt of abandoning his friend Hassan. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of ...
The Kite Runner
Full Review | Original Score: 77/100 | Apr 9, 2008. Rob Humanick Projection Booth. The Kite Runner will no doubt warm the hearts of its intended audience, but its nature is one of dubious flattery ...
BBC
The Kite Runner (2007) Reviewed by Stella Papamichael. Updated 26 December 2007. Contains strong language and infrequent strong violence. Yes, it's a Hollywood film with subtitles, but far from ...
The Kite Runner
Based on one of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, The Kite Runner is a profoundly emotional tale of friendship, family, devastating mistakes, and redeeming love. In a divided country on the verge of war, two childhood friends, Amir and Hassan, are about to be torn apart forever. It's a glorious afternoon in Kabul and the skies are bursting with the exhilarating joy of a kite-fighting ...
'The Kite Runner' Review: A Story of Betrayal and Redemption
It's easy to see why Khaled Hosseini's 2003 novel "The Kite Runner" became an international bestseller, inspiring a well-received movie and now a Broadway play. Read just a few pages into ...
The Kite Runner
The first, set in 1978 Afghanistan, concerns the fateful friendship of two young boys: Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi), who lives with his sophisticated, well-heeled widower father Baba (Homayoun Ershadi ...
The Kite Runner (2007)
The Kite Runner (2007) - Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... Menu. Movies. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. ... Metacritic reviews. The Kite Runner. 61. Metascore. 34 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com. 88.
Review: 'The Kite Runner' Trips From Page to Stage
The Kite Runner Through Oct. 30 at the Hayes Theater, Manhattan; thekiterunnerbroadway.com. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes. Maya Phillips is a critic at large.
The Kite Runner (2007)
The movie use irony symbolism in the three acts structure so well. The things that haunted Amir with guilt in the first act, repeat in the three act, giving him another chance of redemption. I love the theme of the search of redemption and the persistence of the past. This is really told, well.
The Kite Runner Review
Weirdly, this means that, in terms of Marc Forster movies, The Kite Runner has more in common with the pristine likes of Finding Neverland (even beyond the CG-assisted kite-flying scenes) or ...
The Kite Runner Movie Review
The Kite Runner. By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer. age 15+. Best seller-based drama has harrowing moments. Movie PG-13 2007 122 minutes. Rate movie. Parents Say: age 16+ 4 reviews.
The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner engages themes of courage vs. cowardice, of supreme vs. tainted friendship, of kindness and cruelty. It pulls rather hard emotionally, thanks to top-notch writing, acting and ...
The Kite Runner
Movie Review. The Kite Runner brings Khaled Hosseini's best-selling 2003 novel to the big screen. It's a sweeping tale of friendship and loyalty, betrayal and redemption as a young man haunted by a horrible choice discovers, in the words of a wise friend, "There is a way to be good again." ... The Kite Runner is a heartrending story ...
Movie Review: The Kite Runner
The following movie review is from /Film correspondent Elaine Mak. The Kite Runner, directed by Marc Forster, follows the story of two childhood friends, Amir and Hassan, as they are torn apart ...
Kite Runner, The
The Kite Runner touches the heart and the mind - something increasingly rare in any movie not made with the express intention of winning Oscars. ( The Kite Runner, it should be mentioned, will be in the running in several categories.) As the many who have read the book are aware, this is a tale of betrayal, cowardice, and redemption.
The Kite Runner Movie Review for Parents
The Kite Runner Rating & Content Info . Why is The Kite Runner rated PG-13? The Kite Runner is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for strong thematic material including the rape of a child, violence and brief strong language . A young boy's life in Afghanistan is rocked when older boys rape him (shown without explicit details). Dialogue contains the discussion of other child abuse as well.
'The Kite Runner' Review: An Uplifting Broadway ...
Joan Marcus. Playwright Matthew Spangler's adaptation of " The Kite Runner ," Khaled Hosseini's bestselling 2005 novel about the friendship of two boys living parallel lives in Afghanistan ...
Reviews: What Do Critics Think of Broadway's The Kite Runner?
July 21, 2022. Amir Arison and Eris Sirakian in The Kite Runner Joan Marcus. The stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, adapted for the stage by Matthew Spangler, has made its long ...
'The Kite Runner' Broadway Review: Stage Version Of Novel Is All Talk
By Greg Evans. July 21, 2022 6:00pm. Amir Arison, Eric Sirakian, 'The Kite Runner' Joan Marcus. Khaled Hosseini's 2003 bestselling novel The Kite Runner is the sort of compelling, epic morality ...
"The Kite Runner" Comes To State Theatre New Jersey
State Theatre New Jersey presents The Kite Runner, a play with music based on Khaled Hosseini's internationally best-selling novel for two performances on Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. Salar Nader, the renowned musician who starred in the Broadway production, will reprise his role as tabla player for the tour.
Review: The Kite Runner. Nottingham Playhouse
Crossing continents and generations The Kite Runner is so much more than the telling of Amir and Hassan's individual stories. It's ultimately a powerful and uplifting tale about the power of redemption and atoning for past actions. Originally produced by Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman in 2013, The Kite Runner is a fantastic ...
Photos: First Look at the North American Tour of THE KITE RUNNER
Originally published in 2003, Hosseini's The Kite Runner became a bestseller across the globe and has since been published in 70 countries, selling 31.5 million copies in 60 languages.
'The Stranger' Review: Ex-Quibi Thriller Works Better in ...
Crew: Director, writer: Veena Sud. Camera: Paul Yee. Editor: Philip Fowler. Music: Bobby Krlic, James Kelly. With: Maika Monroe, Dane DeHaan, Avan Jogia, Roxana Brusso, Gita Reddy. Maika Monroe ...

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