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The Runner

Play trailer Poster for The Runner Released Jun 21, 1991 1h 34m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Amiro, an illiterate 11-year-old orphan living alone in an abandoned tanker in the Iranian port city of Abadan, survives by shining shoes, selling water, and diving for deposit bottles, while being bullied by both adults and competing older kids. But he finds solace by dreaming about departing cargo ships and airplanes and by running... seemingly to nowhere.

Critics Reviews

View All (20) Critics Reviews
Derek Smith Slant Magazine To borrow the title of a film by Amir Naderi’s contemporary, Abbas Kiarostami, The Runner is a portrait of life and nothing more. Apr 1, 2024 Full Review Kathleen Sachs Chicago Reader His gleeful entreaty is open for interpretation: is he merely seeking attention from the enviable explorers within, or do they represent a yearning for a sort of liberation? Feb 11, 2023 Full Review Christy Lemire FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) It is just joyous. Tactile, gritty and vivid, but it is also so much fun. The joy and vibrancy of filmmaking just leaps off the screen. Dec 20, 2022 Full Review Joshua Ryan FandomWire The Runner plays out with an unflinching realism. It doesn’t spend its time on exposition or massive set pieces. The events of the films are relatively minor from a cinematic standpoint, but their impact and importance to Amiro are immeasurable. Rated: 10/10 Oct 1, 2024 Full Review George Elkind Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Without veering into romanticism or glossing over struggle, Naderi shoots his film in a way that accounts carefully for the medium’s formal interplay of performance, pacing, and light. Mar 23, 2023 Full Review Michael J. Casey Boulder Weekly The film is rich with symbolism, but none of it feels forced or academic. Rare are movies this effortless. Rated: 4.5/5 Mar 16, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Love This Very Much. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/28/08 Full Review Audience Member Poetry. Profound, beautiful, non-verbal, gets you in the gut. Most astonishing ending of any movie ever. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/24/08 Full Review Read all reviews
The Runner

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Amiro, an illiterate 11-year-old orphan living alone in an abandoned tanker in the Iranian port city of Abadan, survives by shining shoes, selling water, and diving for deposit bottles, while being bullied by both adults and competing older kids. But he finds solace by dreaming about departing cargo ships and airplanes and by running... seemingly to nowhere.
Director
Amir Naderi
Producer
Ali Reza Zarrin
Screenwriter
Amir Naderi, Behrouz Gharibpour
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Persian
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 21, 1991, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Oct 28, 2022
Runtime
1h 34m