1 00:02:36,300 --> 00:02:40,294 San Francisco, California 2000 2 00:02:55,592 --> 00:02:58,839 - You ready? - Yeah. Let's go. 3 00:03:07,217 --> 00:03:09,622 - Is that what I think it is? - I think so. 4 00:03:09,717 --> 00:03:12,834 - You nervous? - As long as they spelled my name right. 5 00:03:24,842 --> 00:03:28,457 - You want a moment alone with it? - I want you right here with me. 6 00:03:33,175 --> 00:03:34,503 There it is. 7 00:03:35,092 --> 00:03:36,336 There it is. 8 00:03:41,509 --> 00:03:42,836 Your baby. 9 00:03:49,592 --> 00:03:50,789 I'll get it. 10 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:00,914 Hello? 11 00:04:02,717 --> 00:04:04,459 Hello? 12 00:04:05,509 --> 00:04:06,670 Amirjan. 13 00:04:08,009 --> 00:04:09,336 Rahim Khan? 14 00:04:11,134 --> 00:04:13,338 It is kind of you to remember. 15 00:04:18,675 --> 00:04:21,590 I have missed you, Amir jan. 16 00:04:22,009 --> 00:04:24,628 It's good to hear your voice. 17 00:04:25,509 --> 00:04:27,049 You should come home. 18 00:04:28,050 --> 00:04:29,164 Home? 19 00:04:32,217 --> 00:04:34,421 I don't know if now's such a good time. 20 00:04:35,175 --> 00:04:38,837 It's a very bad time, but you should come. 21 00:04:39,467 --> 00:04:42,252 There is a way to be good again, Amir. 22 00:04:52,259 --> 00:04:55,838 Kabul, Afghanistan 1978 23 00:05:05,467 --> 00:05:07,505 Take the spool. Hold it right. 24 00:05:20,217 --> 00:05:21,496 Give me string! 25 00:05:22,467 --> 00:05:24,008 Hold the spool right. 26 00:05:32,967 --> 00:05:35,254 - I cut him! - Victory! 27 00:05:36,759 --> 00:05:38,252 Victory! 28 00:05:39,925 --> 00:05:40,956 This way! 29 00:05:41,509 --> 00:05:42,706 Where are you going? 30 00:05:44,175 --> 00:05:45,965 Catch it, it's going this way! 31 00:05:59,467 --> 00:06:01,008 We're losing it! 32 00:06:01,592 --> 00:06:03,250 Trust me! 33 00:06:32,217 --> 00:06:33,461 What are you doing here? 34 00:06:34,759 --> 00:06:36,216 Come sit, Amir. 35 00:06:38,759 --> 00:06:40,666 You're wasting time here. 36 00:06:41,384 --> 00:06:43,173 The kite went the other way. 37 00:06:43,884 --> 00:06:44,962 It will come this way. 38 00:06:45,884 --> 00:06:47,542 - How do you know? - I know. 39 00:06:47,675 --> 00:06:48,789 But how? 40 00:06:49,300 --> 00:06:50,959 Have I ever lied to you? 41 00:06:51,884 --> 00:06:53,293 How should I know? 42 00:06:54,384 --> 00:06:56,209 I'd rather eat dirt. 43 00:06:57,134 --> 00:06:58,792 Would you really do that? 44 00:06:58,884 --> 00:07:01,668 - Do what? - Eat dirt if I told you to. 45 00:07:02,967 --> 00:07:04,958 If you asked, I would. 46 00:07:08,134 --> 00:07:10,171 But would you really ask me to do such a thing? 47 00:07:10,925 --> 00:07:12,004 Are you crazy? 48 00:07:12,467 --> 00:07:13,545 You know I wouldn't. 49 00:07:14,342 --> 00:07:15,716 I know. 50 00:07:34,550 --> 00:07:36,008 Thank you, Agha sahib. 51 00:07:40,509 --> 00:07:42,879 I want them to start building tomorrow. 52 00:07:43,259 --> 00:07:45,048 This should have happened a long time ago. 53 00:07:46,300 --> 00:07:48,967 Absolutely, Sahib! And thank you. 54 00:07:49,425 --> 00:07:52,459 The orphans of Kabul will never forget you. 55 00:07:55,634 --> 00:07:56,712 Somehow 56 00:07:57,425 --> 00:07:59,048 I suspect they will. 57 00:08:02,134 --> 00:08:03,331 You know 58 00:08:04,300 --> 00:08:08,129 the bureaucrats will steal half the money. 59 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:09,962 Only half? 60 00:08:11,550 --> 00:08:13,707 They've gotten lazy. 61 00:08:17,134 --> 00:08:19,539 Hey, Mister Jaylawni 62 00:08:19,634 --> 00:08:21,957 Conjure up the winds for me 63 00:08:22,884 --> 00:08:24,542 You could have beaten him. 64 00:08:24,842 --> 00:08:27,710 Me? Weren't you watching Omar back there? 65 00:08:27,842 --> 00:08:29,121 He never loses. 66 00:08:29,342 --> 00:08:33,253 If you have the right kite, you'll win the tournament this year. 67 00:08:34,509 --> 00:08:37,293 With the victory of Saur Revolution 68 00:08:37,759 --> 00:08:41,041 for the first time in the history of this country 69 00:08:41,592 --> 00:08:45,289 the political sovereignty and political power have been bestowed 70 00:08:45,634 --> 00:08:49,628 upon the Democratic Party of the People of Afghanistan. 71 00:08:51,300 --> 00:08:54,832 This will get bloody before it gets better. 72 00:08:55,842 --> 00:08:57,039 Usually a safe bet. 73 00:08:59,009 --> 00:09:02,955 They say the Communists are starting brawls at the university. 74 00:09:04,175 --> 00:09:07,541 A student was stabbed last week. 75 00:09:08,634 --> 00:09:12,046 I'm glad Amir's too young to be involved in all this. 76 00:09:13,009 --> 00:09:14,087 Amir? 77 00:09:16,217 --> 00:09:19,132 Trust me, he won't be getting into any brawls. 78 00:09:20,425 --> 00:09:23,625 Sometimes I see him playing on the street with the neighborhood boys. 79 00:09:25,467 --> 00:09:29,792 They push him around, take his toys from him, 80 00:09:30,134 --> 00:09:31,212 but Amir, 81 00:09:31,467 --> 00:09:34,134 he never fights back. Never. 82 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:36,174 So he's not violent. 83 00:09:36,634 --> 00:09:39,039 You know what happens when the other kids tease him? 84 00:09:40,134 --> 00:09:42,622 Hassan steps in and fends them off. 85 00:09:43,050 --> 00:09:45,504 And when they come home, I say to him, 86 00:09:45,634 --> 00:09:47,671 "How did Hassan get that scrape on his face?" 87 00:09:47,842 --> 00:09:50,331 He says, "He fell down." 88 00:09:51,384 --> 00:09:53,339 There's something missing in that boy. 89 00:09:55,259 --> 00:09:56,337 My friend, 90 00:09:57,509 --> 00:09:59,630 children aren't coloring books. 91 00:10:00,384 --> 00:10:02,955 You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors. 92 00:10:03,300 --> 00:10:07,294 He's not like you. He'll never be like you. 93 00:10:07,425 --> 00:10:10,507 But watch. He'll turn out well. 94 00:10:11,967 --> 00:10:13,958 A boy who won't stand up for himself, 95 00:10:14,050 --> 00:10:17,002 becomes a man who won't stand up for anything. 96 00:10:35,009 --> 00:10:36,087 Amir jan, 97 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:38,791 may I come in? 98 00:10:43,384 --> 00:10:45,919 I wanted to say goodbye. 99 00:10:46,009 --> 00:10:48,130 I'm going to Pakistan tomorrow. 100 00:10:51,425 --> 00:10:53,914 That's a fine kite. 101 00:10:54,634 --> 00:10:56,624 Hassan ran it down. 102 00:10:57,634 --> 00:10:59,624 The boy's got a gift. 103 00:11:02,925 --> 00:11:04,881 What are you working on? 104 00:11:05,884 --> 00:11:07,460 A story. 105 00:11:07,550 --> 00:11:08,830 May I read it? 106 00:11:09,592 --> 00:11:11,298 It's not very good. 107 00:11:12,134 --> 00:11:16,128 All the same, I'd love to read it. 108 00:11:19,550 --> 00:11:21,127 Thank you, Amir jan. 109 00:11:21,634 --> 00:11:23,257 I'll read it tonight. 110 00:11:24,675 --> 00:11:26,465 He hates me 111 00:11:28,259 --> 00:11:30,166 because I killed her. 112 00:11:31,509 --> 00:11:33,085 My mother. 113 00:11:35,675 --> 00:11:37,049 Amir, 114 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:39,756 don't ever say such a thing. 115 00:11:40,717 --> 00:11:42,375 Don't ever think it. 116 00:11:42,675 --> 00:11:44,085 But it's true. 117 00:11:44,759 --> 00:11:45,920 No, Amir jan. 118 00:11:54,050 --> 00:11:56,669 It's a dangerous thing, being born. 119 00:11:57,967 --> 00:12:00,171 Dangerous for the mother, 120 00:12:01,092 --> 00:12:03,581 dangerous for the child. 121 00:12:04,967 --> 00:12:08,297 Your father would die for you. 122 00:12:09,092 --> 00:12:10,882 You know that, 123 00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:15,623 don't you? 124 00:12:21,925 --> 00:12:23,169 Amir jan. 125 00:12:24,509 --> 00:12:27,377 - Come on, do it. - It's wrong, Amir agha. 126 00:12:29,175 --> 00:12:31,746 Do you have to be so holy all the time? 127 00:12:32,884 --> 00:12:33,962 Just one? 128 00:12:34,675 --> 00:12:35,754 Just one. 129 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,254 You'd think one day he'd wise up. 130 00:12:55,884 --> 00:12:57,590 You got your allowance? 131 00:12:58,217 --> 00:13:00,089 Yeah, how about we see The Magnificent Seven again? 132 00:13:01,592 --> 00:13:03,796 We deal in lead, friend! 133 00:13:07,634 --> 00:13:11,497 I'm a friend of Harry Luck's. He tells me you're broke. 134 00:13:12,634 --> 00:13:15,336 No. I'm doing this because I'm an eccentric millionaire. 135 00:13:16,092 --> 00:13:17,371 There's a job for six men 136 00:13:17,467 --> 00:13:20,038 watching over a village just south of the border. 137 00:13:21,009 --> 00:13:22,834 How big's the opposition? 138 00:13:24,092 --> 00:13:25,549 Thirty guns. 139 00:13:26,592 --> 00:13:29,294 I admire your notion of fair odds, mister. 140 00:13:29,634 --> 00:13:31,957 I admire your notion of fair odds, mister. 141 00:13:32,592 --> 00:13:36,420 Harry tells me you faced bigger odds in the Travis County War. 142 00:13:44,175 --> 00:13:46,545 - Who's your favorite? - Steve McQueen. 143 00:13:46,634 --> 00:13:49,834 I like Charles Bronson. Maybe someday we'll go to Iran. 144 00:13:49,967 --> 00:13:51,081 Why? 145 00:13:51,175 --> 00:13:52,798 Maybe we'd see him somewhere. 146 00:13:52,884 --> 00:13:54,128 I could get his autograph. 147 00:13:54,217 --> 00:13:56,504 - Charles Bronson's not Iranian. - He's not? 148 00:13:56,842 --> 00:13:59,295 So why does he speak Farsi with an Iranian accent? 149 00:14:01,759 --> 00:14:03,796 Where are you going, fagots? 150 00:14:04,509 --> 00:14:06,049 What do you boys think: 151 00:14:06,425 --> 00:14:08,831 If I paid you to be my friends, 152 00:14:09,050 --> 00:14:12,416 would you really be my friends? Or would you be my servants? 153 00:14:12,717 --> 00:14:14,921 Gee, Assef, if you were paying us, 154 00:14:15,634 --> 00:14:17,174 that would make us your servants! 155 00:14:17,925 --> 00:14:19,999 So I guess Amir has no friends. 156 00:14:20,842 --> 00:14:22,548 We're not bothering you. 157 00:14:22,717 --> 00:14:23,795 Wrong. 158 00:14:24,217 --> 00:14:25,496 You are bothering me. 159 00:14:26,092 --> 00:14:28,497 Afghanistan is the land of the Pashtuns. 160 00:14:29,009 --> 00:14:30,087 We're the real Afghans. 161 00:14:30,634 --> 00:14:32,174 Not this flat-nose Hazara. 162 00:14:32,342 --> 00:14:35,790 His people pollute our homeland. They dirty our blood. 163 00:14:36,009 --> 00:14:38,497 If idiots like you and your father 164 00:14:38,675 --> 00:14:42,669 didn't take these people in, we'd be rid of them. 165 00:14:43,842 --> 00:14:45,335 Please leave us alone, Agha. 166 00:14:48,967 --> 00:14:50,958 Put it down, you motherless Hazara. 167 00:14:51,675 --> 00:14:53,749 Leave us in peace. 168 00:14:54,550 --> 00:14:55,924 Maybe you didn't notice, 169 00:14:56,050 --> 00:14:58,255 but there are three of us, and two of you. 170 00:14:58,634 --> 00:15:02,165 And maybe you didn't notice that I'm the one holding the slingshot. 171 00:15:07,509 --> 00:15:08,587 Forget it. 172 00:15:11,009 --> 00:15:12,999 We'll deal with these fagots later. 173 00:15:19,550 --> 00:15:22,086 - What's this? - Rahim Khan left it for you. 174 00:15:27,592 --> 00:15:28,966 He liked it. 175 00:15:29,050 --> 00:15:30,330 Liked what? 176 00:15:30,592 --> 00:15:32,085 My story! 177 00:15:33,009 --> 00:15:37,133 Well of course he liked it. You tell great stories. 178 00:15:37,467 --> 00:15:39,458 "Bravo," he wrote. Bravo! 179 00:15:40,050 --> 00:15:41,129 Bravo? 180 00:15:41,259 --> 00:15:43,664 Do you know what "bravo" means? 181 00:15:44,384 --> 00:15:46,505 It's Italian for genius. 182 00:15:47,675 --> 00:15:48,837 What's the story about? 183 00:15:49,759 --> 00:15:52,508 It's about a man who finds a magic cup. 184 00:15:52,592 --> 00:15:55,163 And he learns that if he weeps into the cup, 185 00:15:55,259 --> 00:15:56,965 his tears turn to pearls. 186 00:15:57,342 --> 00:15:59,629 He's very poor, you know? 187 00:15:59,842 --> 00:16:02,509 And, at the end of the story, he's sitting on a mountain of pearls 188 00:16:02,717 --> 00:16:06,165 with a bloody knife in his hand and his dead wife in his arms. 189 00:16:07,717 --> 00:16:10,336 - So he killed her? - Yes, Hassan. 190 00:16:11,842 --> 00:16:14,165 So that he'd cry and get rich. 191 00:16:14,550 --> 00:16:16,837 Yes, you're very quick. 192 00:16:18,592 --> 00:16:19,706 What? 193 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:21,838 Nothing, Amir agha. Are you done with breakfast? 194 00:16:22,259 --> 00:16:23,503 What? 195 00:16:24,050 --> 00:16:27,665 Well, will you permit me to ask a question about the story? 196 00:16:28,009 --> 00:16:29,336 Of course. 197 00:16:29,759 --> 00:16:32,330 Why did the man have to kill his wife? 198 00:16:33,050 --> 00:16:36,416 Because each of his tears becomes a pearl. 199 00:16:37,467 --> 00:16:40,833 Yes, but why couldn't he just smell an onion? 200 00:16:57,175 --> 00:16:59,924 The mullahs at school say drinking is a sin. 201 00:17:00,884 --> 00:17:03,550 They say drinkers will pay when the Reckoning comes. 202 00:17:03,967 --> 00:17:06,503 Do you want to know what your father thinks about sin? 203 00:17:06,925 --> 00:17:08,004 Yes. 204 00:17:08,467 --> 00:17:09,841 Then I'll tell you. 205 00:17:11,384 --> 00:17:14,003 But first understand this and understand it now: 206 00:17:14,092 --> 00:17:16,332 You'll never learn anything of value from those bearded idiots. 207 00:17:17,425 --> 00:17:19,002 You mean the mullahs? 208 00:17:19,092 --> 00:17:21,663 I piss on the beards of those self-righteous monkeys. 209 00:17:22,134 --> 00:17:25,334 They do nothing but thumb their prayer beads and recite a book 210 00:17:25,425 --> 00:17:28,708 written in a tongue they don't even understand. 211 00:17:29,175 --> 00:17:32,008 There is only one sin. And that is theft. 212 00:17:32,342 --> 00:17:35,293 Every other sin is a variation of theft. Do you understand that? 213 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,174 No, Baba jan. 214 00:17:40,050 --> 00:17:41,922 When you kill a man, 215 00:17:42,425 --> 00:17:44,499 you steal a life. 216 00:17:44,967 --> 00:17:47,752 You steal his wife's right to her husband, 217 00:17:47,842 --> 00:17:50,591 his children's right to a father. 218 00:17:51,634 --> 00:17:55,130 When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. 219 00:17:57,675 --> 00:17:59,832 There is no act more wretched than stealing. 220 00:18:00,300 --> 00:18:01,877 Do you see? 221 00:18:04,175 --> 00:18:05,633 Yes, Baba. 222 00:18:07,675 --> 00:18:08,754 Good. 223 00:18:09,550 --> 00:18:11,506 All this talk of sinning is making me thirsty. 224 00:18:18,259 --> 00:18:20,000 Hassan! Hassan! 225 00:18:21,634 --> 00:18:23,506 Go, he's calling you. 226 00:18:28,217 --> 00:18:29,674 Happy Birthday. 227 00:18:31,842 --> 00:18:33,998 It's made in America. 228 00:18:35,467 --> 00:18:37,339 I figured, if you're going to be my bodyguard, 229 00:18:37,425 --> 00:18:38,918 you need a proper weapon. 230 00:18:39,884 --> 00:18:41,341 Thank you, Amir agha. 231 00:18:42,717 --> 00:18:44,293 Come on, let's go. 232 00:19:08,134 --> 00:19:09,378 What does it say? 233 00:19:10,550 --> 00:19:13,039 Amir and Hassan, the Sultans of Kabul. 234 00:19:13,717 --> 00:19:15,542 The Sultans of Kabul! 235 00:19:16,217 --> 00:19:17,875 You want a story? 236 00:19:18,675 --> 00:19:20,049 Rostam and Sohrab. 237 00:19:20,759 --> 00:19:24,124 Not them again. I've read you that one fifty times. 238 00:19:24,259 --> 00:19:26,214 How about Rudabeh? 239 00:19:27,175 --> 00:19:29,166 It's your book, Amir agha. 240 00:19:31,509 --> 00:19:32,670 All right, 241 00:19:32,759 --> 00:19:36,504 Rostam and Sohrab. It's your birthday. 242 00:20:05,884 --> 00:20:08,040 Your dad got a new car? 243 00:20:08,592 --> 00:20:10,832 Isn't that the car they drive in Bullitt? 244 00:20:13,425 --> 00:20:14,539 Steve McQueen! 245 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:20,258 I heard it was someone's birthday. 246 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,371 It's your day, Hassan. Why don't you sit up front? 247 00:20:25,717 --> 00:20:27,375 Are you ready for your birthday present? 248 00:20:27,884 --> 00:20:29,542 - Is it a drawing book? - Better! 249 00:20:29,717 --> 00:20:31,589 - A toy gun? - Better! 250 00:21:08,634 --> 00:21:10,008 Uncle Saifo! 251 00:21:11,467 --> 00:21:13,374 My brother! It's been too long. 252 00:21:14,134 --> 00:21:15,543 Everyone good? 253 00:21:18,092 --> 00:21:20,379 It's his birthday, he can have any kite he wants. 254 00:21:21,925 --> 00:21:24,046 Here they are. 255 00:21:24,384 --> 00:21:27,251 Take your pick. 256 00:21:42,634 --> 00:21:44,091 I want that one. 257 00:21:45,259 --> 00:21:46,337 We'll take it. 258 00:21:47,259 --> 00:21:48,372 A good choice. 259 00:21:49,509 --> 00:21:51,381 I was just lucky that time. 260 00:21:51,550 --> 00:21:54,667 It wasn't luck, Amir agha. You're better than him. 261 00:21:59,759 --> 00:22:01,749 I know you're going to win. 262 00:22:03,217 --> 00:22:05,504 You have too much faith in me. 263 00:22:06,717 --> 00:22:08,838 Ali made the cauliflower especially for you. 264 00:22:09,009 --> 00:22:11,046 Yes. Every time I come, he makes the cauliflower. 265 00:22:11,550 --> 00:22:13,588 I know. You come here too often. 266 00:22:16,092 --> 00:22:17,549 The tournament's tomorrow? 267 00:22:17,925 --> 00:22:19,797 Are you and Hassan ready? 268 00:22:19,967 --> 00:22:21,625 We've been practicing. 269 00:22:22,092 --> 00:22:25,707 Did I ever tell you about the year I won? 270 00:22:25,884 --> 00:22:30,008 I'm fairly sure you told everyone in Kabul about the year you won. 271 00:22:30,759 --> 00:22:33,045 Fourteen kites I cut down. 272 00:22:33,217 --> 00:22:35,540 I think that's still a record. 273 00:22:36,050 --> 00:22:37,875 Yes, yes, yes. Eat. 274 00:23:21,259 --> 00:23:23,629 I think you're going to make Agha sahib very proud today. 275 00:23:23,759 --> 00:23:25,216 You think so? 276 00:23:25,300 --> 00:23:26,379 Inshallah. 277 00:23:26,467 --> 00:23:27,629 Inshallah. 278 00:23:51,259 --> 00:23:53,131 It's really crowded. 279 00:23:55,300 --> 00:23:57,256 I'm not sure it's the best day to fly a kite. 280 00:23:57,342 --> 00:23:58,586 Why? 281 00:23:58,675 --> 00:24:01,081 It's a beautiful day. 282 00:24:02,259 --> 00:24:04,664 It's the two of us against all of Kabul. 283 00:24:05,925 --> 00:24:08,923 I admire your notion of fair odds, mister. 284 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:11,174 Let's fly. 285 00:24:21,175 --> 00:24:22,668 Put down the spool. 286 00:24:23,009 --> 00:24:24,750 Take it! 287 00:25:14,509 --> 00:25:16,049 Take it from under. 288 00:25:21,509 --> 00:25:22,587 Okay, I'm under. 289 00:25:38,342 --> 00:25:42,667 We cut him! We cut him! 290 00:26:08,217 --> 00:26:09,626 Amir agha! 291 00:26:15,092 --> 00:26:16,750 Go a little to your right. 292 00:26:40,425 --> 00:26:42,297 We cut him! We cut him! 293 00:26:42,467 --> 00:26:44,125 They could break your record. 294 00:26:44,300 --> 00:26:45,628 Let's see. 295 00:26:55,217 --> 00:26:57,504 Hold the spool right. 296 00:27:03,717 --> 00:27:04,879 Take him, Omar! 297 00:27:06,550 --> 00:27:10,046 Omar! Omar! Omar! 298 00:27:17,634 --> 00:27:19,210 Omar! 299 00:27:31,925 --> 00:27:33,750 I cut him! 300 00:27:33,884 --> 00:27:36,550 Victory! Victory! 301 00:27:42,259 --> 00:27:45,459 - How many has he cut? - I've counted twelve. 302 00:27:46,092 --> 00:27:48,663 I think he wants Baba's record. 303 00:27:48,967 --> 00:27:51,290 We can't let that happen. 304 00:27:58,884 --> 00:28:01,170 Last one, Omar agha. 305 00:28:20,425 --> 00:28:22,084 Pull your string forward. 306 00:28:23,050 --> 00:28:24,164 Cut him! 307 00:28:36,050 --> 00:28:38,456 It's just the two of them now. 308 00:28:50,300 --> 00:28:52,256 Bravo, Amir agha! 309 00:28:52,425 --> 00:28:53,539 You cut him! 310 00:28:53,717 --> 00:28:56,798 We won! We won! 311 00:29:05,884 --> 00:29:08,455 Amir, I'm going to run that blue kite for you. 312 00:29:08,717 --> 00:29:10,708 Hassan! Come back with it! 313 00:29:11,217 --> 00:29:13,457 For you, a thousand times over! 314 00:29:29,550 --> 00:29:33,247 What am I supposed to do with this? You're the reason I got cut! 315 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,633 Have you seen a Hazara boy come this way? 316 00:30:00,717 --> 00:30:02,258 Wearing a red chapan. 317 00:30:02,634 --> 00:30:06,295 I saw a boy running that way. He had a kite in his hand. 318 00:30:08,009 --> 00:30:10,923 - They've probably caught him by now. - Who? 319 00:30:11,342 --> 00:30:13,831 The big boys chasing him. 320 00:30:37,675 --> 00:30:39,382 Where's your slingshot, Hazara? 321 00:30:40,967 --> 00:30:43,088 You don't look so brave today. 322 00:30:44,675 --> 00:30:48,337 But I'm in a mood to forgive. What do you say to that, boys? 323 00:30:49,342 --> 00:30:50,716 Very generous. 324 00:30:50,884 --> 00:30:53,289 Especially after the rude manners he showed last time. 325 00:30:54,175 --> 00:30:56,296 Forgiven. It's done. 326 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,419 Of course, nothing is free in this world. 327 00:31:02,509 --> 00:31:04,250 My pardon comes with a small price. 328 00:31:04,884 --> 00:31:06,341 Nothing is free. 329 00:31:06,884 --> 00:31:08,625 You're a lucky Hazara. 330 00:31:08,925 --> 00:31:12,421 Because, today, it's only going to cost you that kite. 331 00:31:14,384 --> 00:31:15,711 Fair deal. 332 00:31:15,967 --> 00:31:20,043 - What do you think, boys? - More than fair. 333 00:31:21,425 --> 00:31:25,466 Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. 334 00:31:26,467 --> 00:31:27,960 This is his. 335 00:31:29,050 --> 00:31:30,212 Loyal Hazara. 336 00:31:30,550 --> 00:31:31,794 Loyal dog. 337 00:31:32,467 --> 00:31:37,006 Before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this, Hazara: 338 00:31:37,467 --> 00:31:39,790 Would he do the same for you? 339 00:31:39,967 --> 00:31:41,294 Have you ever wondered why 340 00:31:41,467 --> 00:31:43,623 he only plays with you when no one else is around? 341 00:31:45,509 --> 00:31:47,464 I said, "Why," Hazara! 342 00:31:48,467 --> 00:31:51,749 Because, to him, you're nothing but an ugly pet. 343 00:31:52,217 --> 00:31:54,338 Something he can play with when he's bored. 344 00:31:54,675 --> 00:31:56,749 Something he can kick when he's angry. 345 00:31:57,009 --> 00:31:58,667 Amir agha and I are friends. 346 00:31:58,759 --> 00:31:59,789 Friends? 347 00:31:59,884 --> 00:32:00,962 You fool. Enough of this. 348 00:32:01,050 --> 00:32:02,212 Give us the kite. 349 00:32:04,175 --> 00:32:05,668 Last chance. 350 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:09,459 As you wish. 351 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:12,080 Keep it. 352 00:32:12,675 --> 00:32:16,751 So it will always remind you of what I'm about to do to you. 353 00:32:16,842 --> 00:32:17,956 Nothing is free. 354 00:32:31,300 --> 00:32:33,291 He's just a servant's son. 355 00:32:33,509 --> 00:32:36,080 I'm not sure, Assef. My father says it's wrong. 356 00:32:36,384 --> 00:32:37,793 Your father's a Communist. 357 00:32:39,425 --> 00:32:41,961 And there's nothing wrong about teaching this donkey a lesson. 358 00:32:43,050 --> 00:32:44,958 Just hold him down. 359 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:13,128 Let's get out of here. 360 00:33:49,467 --> 00:33:52,169 Where were you? I was looking for you. 361 00:33:52,300 --> 00:33:53,758 Let's go, Agha sahib will worry. 362 00:34:11,342 --> 00:34:12,420 Good job. 363 00:34:15,092 --> 00:34:16,170 Come here. 364 00:34:26,675 --> 00:34:27,754 Well done. 365 00:34:53,675 --> 00:34:55,085 Where's Hassan? 366 00:34:55,175 --> 00:34:56,254 He went back to sleep. 367 00:34:56,550 --> 00:34:59,833 The last few weeks, all he wants to do is sleep. 368 00:34:59,925 --> 00:35:01,916 After chores he just crawls under his blanket. 369 00:35:03,342 --> 00:35:05,048 Can I ask you something? 370 00:35:07,425 --> 00:35:09,250 Did something happen, Amir agha? 371 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:11,708 Something he's not telling me? 372 00:35:11,842 --> 00:35:14,959 How should I know? Maybe he's sick. 373 00:35:15,509 --> 00:35:17,499 People get sick, you know. 374 00:35:32,050 --> 00:35:34,456 The mullahs want to rule our souls 375 00:35:35,175 --> 00:35:38,506 and the Communists tell us we don't have any. 376 00:35:39,259 --> 00:35:42,707 More importantly, El Cid is playing. We could go tomorrow. 377 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,503 Tell Hassan to come with us? 378 00:35:47,009 --> 00:35:48,170 He's not feeling well. 379 00:35:49,175 --> 00:35:51,047 Really? What's wrong with him? 380 00:35:51,925 --> 00:35:53,253 He's got a cold or something. 381 00:35:53,925 --> 00:35:56,331 Ali says he's sleeping it off. 382 00:35:56,842 --> 00:35:58,833 I haven't seen you two playing together in weeks. 383 00:35:58,925 --> 00:36:00,335 What happened? 384 00:36:02,217 --> 00:36:04,587 Nothing. He's just been a little sick. 385 00:36:05,092 --> 00:36:06,549 Hassan never gets sick. 386 00:36:06,634 --> 00:36:09,300 Whatever's going on, you should deal with it before too long. 387 00:36:09,925 --> 00:36:11,632 Take care not to let these things fester. 388 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,206 Time will only make it worse. 389 00:36:34,300 --> 00:36:35,710 What are you reading? 390 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:40,083 It's for little kids. I just... I'm trying to learn. 391 00:36:42,634 --> 00:36:45,087 I'd rather hear one of your stories. 392 00:36:46,092 --> 00:36:47,668 I'm done making up stories. 393 00:36:48,134 --> 00:36:49,212 Why? 394 00:36:49,467 --> 00:36:51,505 Because they're stupid. 395 00:36:51,967 --> 00:36:55,463 I don't think they're stupid. I love your stories. 396 00:36:58,217 --> 00:37:00,124 What would you do if I hit you with this? 397 00:37:03,967 --> 00:37:05,129 What would you do? 398 00:37:06,634 --> 00:37:08,091 Hit me back! 399 00:37:09,967 --> 00:37:11,045 Hit me back! 400 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:12,914 Hit me back! 401 00:37:13,634 --> 00:37:14,877 Hit me back. 402 00:37:19,717 --> 00:37:21,873 You're a coward. 403 00:37:42,967 --> 00:37:44,792 Blood's good for the trees. 404 00:37:45,592 --> 00:37:47,666 Come on, birthday boy. Let's go inside. 405 00:37:49,467 --> 00:37:51,209 Ali, is everything ready? 406 00:37:51,300 --> 00:37:54,215 Don't worry, it will be soon. 407 00:37:56,634 --> 00:37:59,667 - Move it back a little. - Yes, of course. 408 00:38:08,550 --> 00:38:13,255 Have you ever thought about getting new servants? 409 00:38:20,300 --> 00:38:21,959 Why would I want to do that? 410 00:38:22,467 --> 00:38:25,915 I guess you wouldn't. It was just a question. 411 00:38:26,217 --> 00:38:28,421 I grew up with Ali. 412 00:38:28,509 --> 00:38:32,633 My father took him in, loved him like his own son. 413 00:38:34,259 --> 00:38:36,925 Forty years he's been with my family. Forty goddamn years. 414 00:38:38,634 --> 00:38:41,916 And you think I'm just going to throw him out? 415 00:38:43,592 --> 00:38:46,839 I've never laid a hand on you, 416 00:38:47,092 --> 00:38:49,794 but you ever say that again... 417 00:38:51,134 --> 00:38:53,420 You bring me shame. 418 00:38:54,009 --> 00:38:55,715 And, Hassan... 419 00:38:56,759 --> 00:38:58,833 Hassan's not going anywhere. 420 00:38:58,925 --> 00:39:00,169 Do you understand? 421 00:39:03,134 --> 00:39:05,587 I said, do you understand? 422 00:39:06,634 --> 00:39:08,008 Yes, Baba. 423 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,289 You bring me shame. 424 00:40:01,384 --> 00:40:04,086 Massoud jan, how are you? 425 00:40:04,175 --> 00:40:05,965 - Welcome. - Happy birthday. 426 00:40:09,925 --> 00:40:11,039 Welcome. 427 00:40:12,509 --> 00:40:14,298 Hello, Amir jan. Happy birthday. 428 00:40:14,592 --> 00:40:16,250 Hello, Amir jan. How are you? 429 00:40:21,175 --> 00:40:24,292 It is modest and not worthy of you. 430 00:40:24,384 --> 00:40:26,209 Happy birthday. 431 00:40:27,759 --> 00:40:30,757 Hassan said your copy was getting old, missing some pages. 432 00:40:31,592 --> 00:40:33,168 Thank you. 433 00:40:33,884 --> 00:40:34,962 Amir. 434 00:40:35,050 --> 00:40:36,958 Happy birthday, Amir jan. 435 00:40:40,592 --> 00:40:41,966 Happy birthday. 436 00:40:42,467 --> 00:40:45,963 - What a splendid suit. - Great party, Amir. 437 00:40:48,467 --> 00:40:50,422 Aren't you going to thank Assef? 438 00:40:52,425 --> 00:40:53,456 Thank you. 439 00:40:58,925 --> 00:41:00,004 Please, enjoy. 440 00:41:14,592 --> 00:41:16,085 Amir jan. 441 00:41:16,175 --> 00:41:19,588 Shouldn't you be entertaining your guests? 442 00:41:23,259 --> 00:41:25,877 I didn't know you drank. 443 00:41:27,092 --> 00:41:28,917 Turns out I do. 444 00:41:29,592 --> 00:41:32,709 But only on the most important occasions. 445 00:41:35,634 --> 00:41:41,748 You know you can tell me anything you want. Anytime. 446 00:41:42,675 --> 00:41:44,298 I know. 447 00:41:46,592 --> 00:41:49,259 Here, I almost forgot. 448 00:41:51,259 --> 00:41:53,333 For your stories. 449 00:42:03,092 --> 00:42:06,173 Come. You're missing your party. 450 00:43:07,675 --> 00:43:08,789 Baba. 451 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:11,423 Have you seen my watch anywhere? 452 00:43:11,925 --> 00:43:13,667 The one I just bought you? 453 00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:15,625 Don't tell me you already lost it. 454 00:43:16,259 --> 00:43:19,257 No. I know I had it in my room. 455 00:43:19,759 --> 00:43:21,584 I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere. 456 00:44:05,384 --> 00:44:06,414 What's wrong? 457 00:44:10,425 --> 00:44:11,456 Ali. 458 00:44:11,550 --> 00:44:13,588 When you finish your work, come inside with Hassan. 459 00:44:13,675 --> 00:44:15,251 Yes, Agha sahib. 460 00:44:23,134 --> 00:44:25,587 Did you steal Amir's watch, Hassan? 461 00:44:32,384 --> 00:44:34,042 Yes. 462 00:44:39,092 --> 00:44:40,419 I forgive you. 463 00:44:43,092 --> 00:44:44,668 We're leaving, Agha sahib. 464 00:44:45,175 --> 00:44:46,337 What? 465 00:44:47,092 --> 00:44:48,834 We can't live here any more. 466 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,087 But I forgive him. Didn't you hear me, Ali? 467 00:44:53,759 --> 00:44:56,377 Life here is impossible for us now, Agha sahib. 468 00:44:56,509 --> 00:44:57,752 We're leaving. 469 00:44:57,842 --> 00:44:59,418 I don't care about the watch. 470 00:44:59,509 --> 00:45:01,464 I don't understand why you're doing this. 471 00:45:01,717 --> 00:45:05,165 I'm sorry, Agha sahib, but our bags are already packed. 472 00:45:05,259 --> 00:45:07,747 We've made our decision. 473 00:45:07,967 --> 00:45:09,164 Ali. 474 00:45:09,425 --> 00:45:10,918 Haven't I provided for you? 475 00:45:11,217 --> 00:45:12,710 Haven't I been good to you and Hassan? 476 00:45:13,134 --> 00:45:15,089 At least tell me why. 477 00:45:15,342 --> 00:45:16,965 I forbid you to do this! 478 00:45:17,592 --> 00:45:18,670 Do you hear me? 479 00:45:19,009 --> 00:45:20,916 I forbid you! 480 00:45:23,759 --> 00:45:28,463 Respectfully, you can't forbid me anything, Agha sahib. 481 00:45:29,300 --> 00:45:32,085 We don't work for you any more. 482 00:46:07,425 --> 00:46:10,756 Soviet Invasion December 1979 483 00:46:14,592 --> 00:46:16,085 Pack a bag. Only what you need. 484 00:46:16,175 --> 00:46:17,206 Hurry up! 485 00:46:19,175 --> 00:46:22,422 - They'll come for me. - We don't know that. 486 00:46:22,509 --> 00:46:26,170 Read your history, my friend. By the time we know it, it will be too late. 487 00:46:29,634 --> 00:46:33,331 You know how I am. You know how I talk. 488 00:46:33,634 --> 00:46:36,418 Everyone in Kabul has heard me cursing the Communists. 489 00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:42,664 Will you watch over the house for me? We'll be back when the Russians leave. 490 00:46:43,134 --> 00:46:45,006 What if they don't leave? 491 00:46:45,092 --> 00:46:48,872 Everyone leaves. This country is not kind to invaders. 492 00:46:52,217 --> 00:46:53,758 And you, my friend? 493 00:46:54,300 --> 00:46:55,580 Where will you go? 494 00:46:56,425 --> 00:46:57,456 Pakistan, first. 495 00:46:57,925 --> 00:47:00,592 After that, wherever is safest for the boy. 496 00:47:00,925 --> 00:47:03,130 The smugglers want five thousand a head 497 00:47:03,467 --> 00:47:05,754 for safe passage to Pakistan. 498 00:47:06,259 --> 00:47:08,712 I'm fairly sure they won't take cheques. 499 00:47:09,842 --> 00:47:12,082 What about a Mustang? 500 00:48:24,425 --> 00:48:28,336 He wants a half hour with the lady in the back of the truck. 501 00:48:29,717 --> 00:48:30,747 What? 502 00:48:31,259 --> 00:48:32,337 No. 503 00:48:33,217 --> 00:48:34,461 Brother. 504 00:48:34,925 --> 00:48:36,833 Please ask mister soldier sahib to show a little mercy. 505 00:48:37,467 --> 00:48:39,374 Maybe he has a wife, too. 506 00:48:40,092 --> 00:48:42,083 It's his price for letting us pass. 507 00:48:44,217 --> 00:48:46,338 I want you to ask this man something. 508 00:48:46,425 --> 00:48:48,831 Ask him where his shame is. 509 00:48:59,717 --> 00:49:01,755 He says, there is no shame in war. 510 00:49:02,550 --> 00:49:06,212 Tell him he is wrong. War doesn't negate decency. 511 00:49:10,842 --> 00:49:11,872 What did he say? 512 00:49:11,967 --> 00:49:14,254 He says he'd enjoy putting a bullet in you, 513 00:49:14,342 --> 00:49:16,463 almost as much as he'd enjoy her. 514 00:49:17,509 --> 00:49:20,423 I'll take a thousand of his bullets before I let this indecency take place. 515 00:49:20,509 --> 00:49:23,625 - Baba, please, he'll shoot you. - Have I taught you nothing? 516 00:49:24,425 --> 00:49:27,340 Tell him he'd better kill me good with the first shot. 517 00:49:27,759 --> 00:49:28,789 Because if I don't go down, 518 00:49:29,092 --> 00:49:31,083 I'm tearing him to pieces, goddamn his father! 519 00:50:17,759 --> 00:50:19,749 You are very kind. 520 00:50:21,759 --> 00:50:24,045 It's not worthy of a thank you. 521 00:50:48,884 --> 00:50:51,372 Get out. Come on, get out. 522 00:50:51,884 --> 00:50:54,289 Keep it moving. Keep it moving. 523 00:50:55,425 --> 00:50:56,799 Why did you stop? 524 00:50:56,925 --> 00:50:59,248 We can't get you across the border in that truck. 525 00:51:00,009 --> 00:51:02,414 We don't have enough money for all the Russians. 526 00:51:02,592 --> 00:51:05,341 - So what are we doing? - Go climb into that vehicle. 527 00:51:08,092 --> 00:51:09,715 You're joking. 528 00:51:10,092 --> 00:51:11,964 Your choice, Agha sahib. 529 00:51:30,675 --> 00:51:32,216 Climb up quickly. 530 00:51:38,342 --> 00:51:40,214 Turn around and go down. 531 00:51:44,509 --> 00:51:46,546 I'm with you. Go. 532 00:51:56,425 --> 00:51:58,084 You see it? 533 00:51:58,425 --> 00:51:59,883 Yes. 534 00:52:00,259 --> 00:52:02,794 Don't be afraid. I'm right here with you. 535 00:52:03,009 --> 00:52:05,248 I can't breathe, Baba. 536 00:52:05,925 --> 00:52:08,758 Think of something else. Think of a poem. 537 00:52:09,384 --> 00:52:10,545 Rumi? 538 00:52:11,759 --> 00:52:13,714 You've memorized some, haven't you? 539 00:52:13,884 --> 00:52:15,163 I want to hear one. 540 00:52:16,925 --> 00:52:20,754 "If we come to sleep we are His drowsy ones 541 00:52:21,134 --> 00:52:24,748 "And if we come to wake we are in His hands" 542 00:52:25,425 --> 00:52:26,456 Keep going. 543 00:52:27,259 --> 00:52:30,755 "If we come to weeping we are His cloud full of raindrops 544 00:52:31,050 --> 00:52:34,048 "And if we come to laughing we are His lightning in that moment" 545 00:52:34,592 --> 00:52:35,670 Good job. 546 00:52:36,217 --> 00:52:39,250 "If we come to anger and battle it is the reflection of His wrath 547 00:52:39,925 --> 00:52:42,959 "And if we come to peace and pardon it is the reflection of His love 548 00:52:44,217 --> 00:52:47,630 "Who are we in this complicated world?" 549 00:52:58,884 --> 00:53:02,166 Fremont, California 1988 550 00:53:16,134 --> 00:53:17,626 A pack of those. 551 00:53:20,925 --> 00:53:23,082 - Is that your car? - Yeah. 552 00:53:27,175 --> 00:53:29,131 - Beautiful car. - Thanks. 553 00:53:41,300 --> 00:53:43,670 Richard Hidalgo. 554 00:53:49,717 --> 00:53:51,838 Erin Hill. 555 00:53:56,967 --> 00:53:59,290 Denise Hawking. 556 00:54:03,467 --> 00:54:06,134 Damon Hooper. 557 00:54:11,384 --> 00:54:13,707 June Kitagawa. 558 00:54:24,925 --> 00:54:27,295 - Hi. - Hello. 559 00:54:27,967 --> 00:54:30,882 - Tonight I'm very happy. - Well, that's good. 560 00:54:31,300 --> 00:54:34,547 - Tonight I drink with my son. - Hi. 561 00:54:34,634 --> 00:54:37,466 How are you, my friend? Let's have a drink with us. 562 00:54:37,550 --> 00:54:39,422 - What you like to drink? - Scotch. 563 00:54:39,509 --> 00:54:41,962 - Three Scotch, please. - I'll have a beer instead. Thanks. 564 00:54:42,050 --> 00:54:43,792 - Budweiser? - Sure. 565 00:54:44,092 --> 00:54:45,371 Please. 566 00:54:48,550 --> 00:54:51,335 My son, the college graduate. 567 00:54:51,967 --> 00:54:55,333 - It's just community college. - It's college. 568 00:54:56,467 --> 00:54:58,920 And someday, Dr. Amir! 569 00:55:00,300 --> 00:55:02,836 - You know I want to write. - Write? 570 00:55:03,217 --> 00:55:05,172 I don't want to be a doctor. 571 00:55:06,634 --> 00:55:07,831 Cheers. 572 00:55:13,300 --> 00:55:14,876 One more, sir. 573 00:55:15,759 --> 00:55:18,377 So instead of being doctor and saving lives, 574 00:55:18,467 --> 00:55:20,125 he wants make up stories. 575 00:55:22,467 --> 00:55:24,125 And for money, 576 00:55:24,759 --> 00:55:27,294 you can work at the gas station with me. 577 00:55:27,634 --> 00:55:30,205 We'll put your diploma on the wall. 578 00:55:31,134 --> 00:55:32,959 Whatever you think. 579 00:55:36,925 --> 00:55:39,674 Beautiful! Beautiful shot! You see that shot? 580 00:55:41,050 --> 00:55:43,586 A pitcher of beer for gentlemen, please. 581 00:55:44,592 --> 00:55:47,460 Cheers. My son, he graduates college today. 582 00:55:47,550 --> 00:55:49,873 - Way to go, man. Congratulations. - Thank you. 583 00:55:51,467 --> 00:55:53,125 Fuck the Russia! 584 00:55:53,800 --> 00:55:56,633 - Fuck the Russia! - Fuck Russia. 585 00:56:03,467 --> 00:56:06,465 I wish Hassan had been with us today. 586 00:56:06,925 --> 00:56:09,710 This would make him happy. 587 00:56:13,342 --> 00:56:16,126 - Four, so that's $6. - Okay. 588 00:56:25,967 --> 00:56:27,294 Amir jan. 589 00:56:28,342 --> 00:56:30,297 This is General Sahib, Mr. Iqbal Taheri. 590 00:56:30,925 --> 00:56:33,046 He was a decorated general in Kabul. 591 00:56:33,134 --> 00:56:35,006 Such a lofty introduction. 592 00:56:35,884 --> 00:56:37,709 - Salaam, my child. - Salaam, General Sahib. 593 00:56:38,467 --> 00:56:40,090 Amir is going to be a great writer. 594 00:56:41,300 --> 00:56:42,758 It is God's will. 595 00:56:43,175 --> 00:56:45,415 Will you be writing about our country? 596 00:56:45,925 --> 00:56:47,169 History, perhaps? 597 00:56:48,259 --> 00:56:50,131 I write fiction. 598 00:56:51,592 --> 00:56:52,871 A storyteller. 599 00:56:53,384 --> 00:56:58,420 Well, people do need their stories to divert them occasionally. 600 00:56:58,925 --> 00:57:02,871 - Father, you forgot your tea. - You are too kind, my dear. 601 00:57:04,467 --> 00:57:06,292 My daughter, Soraya jan. 602 00:57:08,675 --> 00:57:10,832 Well, time to go set up. 603 00:57:11,425 --> 00:57:13,795 Best of luck with the writing. 604 00:57:14,634 --> 00:57:15,913 - Until later. - Goodbye. 605 00:57:21,717 --> 00:57:22,996 What? 606 00:57:23,425 --> 00:57:25,167 She has made an impression on you? 607 00:57:25,467 --> 00:57:27,374 Please, Baba. 608 00:57:46,384 --> 00:57:47,627 What are you writing? 609 00:57:48,384 --> 00:57:49,793 A story. 610 00:57:53,384 --> 00:57:55,256 Write well. 611 00:58:02,175 --> 00:58:05,008 - How much? - $160. 612 00:58:05,092 --> 00:58:06,501 Not bad. 613 00:58:07,342 --> 00:58:10,009 - You want a Coke? - Sure. Be careful. 614 00:58:10,800 --> 00:58:11,914 Of what? 615 00:58:12,009 --> 00:58:15,457 The General is a Pashtun to the root. He has honor and pride. 616 00:58:16,175 --> 00:58:18,166 I was only going to get us Cokes. 617 00:58:18,300 --> 00:58:19,841 Just don't embarrass me. 618 00:58:20,300 --> 00:58:22,007 That's all I ask. 619 00:58:22,675 --> 00:58:24,002 I won't. 620 00:58:31,842 --> 00:58:35,089 - Hi. - Hi. 621 00:58:35,175 --> 00:58:38,506 - Is General Sahib here today? - Yeah, he went that way. 622 00:58:39,842 --> 00:58:43,006 Will you tell him that I stopped by to pay my respects? 623 00:58:43,092 --> 00:58:44,999 I will. 624 00:58:45,092 --> 00:58:48,505 Thank you. Oh, and my name's Amir. 625 00:58:48,592 --> 00:58:52,751 In case you need to know, so you can tell him that I stopped by. 626 00:58:52,842 --> 00:58:54,632 To pay my respects. 627 00:58:57,759 --> 00:59:01,290 - I'll go now. Sorry to disturb you. - Oh, no, no, you didn't. 628 00:59:02,925 --> 00:59:04,466 Good. 629 00:59:07,384 --> 00:59:09,458 Can I ask what you're reading? 630 00:59:11,050 --> 00:59:12,709 Have you read it? 631 00:59:13,425 --> 00:59:15,084 It's a sad story. 632 00:59:16,467 --> 00:59:18,125 I heard you write. 633 00:59:21,467 --> 00:59:24,038 Would you like to read one of my stories? 634 00:59:26,925 --> 00:59:28,335 I'd like that. 635 00:59:31,092 --> 00:59:32,371 Great. 636 01:00:11,717 --> 01:00:14,501 - How much for this? - $5. 637 01:00:15,175 --> 01:00:18,257 - I'll give you three. - Okay. 638 01:00:19,050 --> 01:00:20,508 Thank you. 639 01:00:21,550 --> 01:00:24,086 - You're not much of a haggler. - I know. 640 01:00:25,509 --> 01:00:27,583 I brought you something. 641 01:00:29,175 --> 01:00:31,746 - You remembered. - Of course. 642 01:00:33,050 --> 01:00:36,048 Our aspiring storyteller. What a pleasure. 643 01:00:44,717 --> 01:00:47,999 They say it will rain this week. 644 01:00:48,342 --> 01:00:50,380 Hard to believe, isn't it? 645 01:00:52,134 --> 01:00:53,543 You know, child, 646 01:00:54,342 --> 01:00:56,048 I've grown rather fond of you. 647 01:00:57,384 --> 01:00:59,173 You're a decent boy. 648 01:00:59,634 --> 01:01:05,382 But, sometimes, even decent boys need reminding. 649 01:01:05,925 --> 01:01:11,424 So it's my duty to remind you that you are among peers. 650 01:01:12,550 --> 01:01:15,383 Here, everyone is a storyteller. 651 01:01:16,092 --> 01:01:18,794 Do pass my respects to your father. 652 01:01:19,467 --> 01:01:20,711 Yes, of course. 653 01:01:22,717 --> 01:01:25,087 - For your granddaughter? - My granddaughter. 654 01:01:25,175 --> 01:01:27,581 - Impossible. - Thank you very much. 655 01:01:28,092 --> 01:01:29,501 Here you go. Thank You. 656 01:01:29,592 --> 01:01:31,713 - Have a good day. - You're welcome. 657 01:01:36,050 --> 01:01:37,294 Amir. 658 01:01:38,550 --> 01:01:40,008 What's wrong? 659 01:01:40,759 --> 01:01:42,002 Nothing. 660 01:01:43,300 --> 01:01:44,793 The General? 661 01:01:48,759 --> 01:01:50,168 You okay? 662 01:01:55,134 --> 01:01:56,331 You all right? 663 01:01:56,425 --> 01:01:57,503 Have you been coughing? 664 01:01:58,050 --> 01:01:59,128 Yes. 665 01:02:00,509 --> 01:02:02,049 Where are you from? 666 01:02:02,134 --> 01:02:05,665 I grew up in Michigan. Came out here for medical school. 667 01:02:05,759 --> 01:02:08,461 Once you get used to that California sunshine... 668 01:02:08,550 --> 01:02:10,837 - But your family? - My family. 669 01:02:10,925 --> 01:02:13,082 We're originally from Russia. 670 01:02:16,717 --> 01:02:17,961 I'm sorry. 671 01:02:36,509 --> 01:02:38,962 - How are you feeling? - The same. 672 01:02:40,217 --> 01:02:42,124 We have your results back. 673 01:02:47,134 --> 01:02:48,626 Wait outside for me. 674 01:03:07,509 --> 01:03:10,590 "The citizens of Kabul were skeletons now, 675 01:03:10,675 --> 01:03:13,342 skeletons selling naswar in the night market, 676 01:03:13,425 --> 01:03:16,044 skeletons drinking cups of strong tea, 677 01:03:16,717 --> 01:03:19,288 skeletons playing cards in the moonlight. 678 01:03:20,592 --> 01:03:24,799 They greeted me as I passed, teeth clacking together in their jaws. 679 01:03:26,509 --> 01:03:29,127 'Salaam, brother', they said. 680 01:03:30,884 --> 01:03:32,424 "Welcome home." 681 01:03:39,217 --> 01:03:40,923 It's sort of a work in progress. 682 01:03:43,009 --> 01:03:45,414 It's called The Sultans of Kabul. 683 01:03:46,550 --> 01:03:47,924 Good title. 684 01:03:49,759 --> 01:03:51,168 Keep going. 685 01:03:52,717 --> 01:03:54,174 That's the end. 686 01:03:55,384 --> 01:03:57,125 That's not an ending. 687 01:03:58,425 --> 01:04:00,665 It's my story. 688 01:04:00,759 --> 01:04:02,833 I get to end it how I want. 689 01:04:07,467 --> 01:04:11,674 I'm tired of these machines. Tomorrow I want you to take me home. 690 01:04:12,050 --> 01:04:13,424 But Dr. Amani said... 691 01:04:13,509 --> 01:04:15,713 It's not Dr. Amani's decision. 692 01:04:32,634 --> 01:04:34,541 How are you, my friend? 693 01:04:38,217 --> 01:04:41,085 You shouldn't have burdened yourselves. 694 01:04:41,550 --> 01:04:42,628 It's no burden. 695 01:04:44,009 --> 01:04:46,130 No burden at all. 696 01:04:46,217 --> 01:04:50,673 If you need anything, ask me like you'd ask a brother. 697 01:04:52,217 --> 01:04:53,793 Your coming here 698 01:04:54,967 --> 01:04:56,958 has brightened my eyes. 699 01:04:58,175 --> 01:05:00,415 What about you, Amir jan? 700 01:05:00,634 --> 01:05:02,589 Do you need anything? 701 01:05:03,717 --> 01:05:06,632 No, thank you, General Sahib. 702 01:05:08,884 --> 01:05:10,045 Excuse me. 703 01:05:12,425 --> 01:05:13,622 Thank you. 704 01:05:14,384 --> 01:05:17,251 Those are beautiful flowers. 705 01:05:38,467 --> 01:05:40,090 I'm really sorry. 706 01:05:43,217 --> 01:05:46,878 You better go back inside or your father will come after me. 707 01:05:50,717 --> 01:05:52,624 Your story made me cry. 708 01:05:55,384 --> 01:05:56,758 You read it? 709 01:05:59,050 --> 01:06:00,377 Our secret? 710 01:06:02,550 --> 01:06:03,628 Yeah. 711 01:06:05,217 --> 01:06:06,544 Our secret. 712 01:06:39,009 --> 01:06:41,295 Can I do anything else for you? 713 01:06:43,134 --> 01:06:45,587 No, child. Thank you. 714 01:06:47,384 --> 01:06:50,002 Then I wonder if you'd do something for me. 715 01:06:54,300 --> 01:06:56,623 I want you to go khastegari. 716 01:06:57,675 --> 01:07:00,839 I want you to ask General Taheri for his daughter's hand. 717 01:07:03,342 --> 01:07:05,000 Are you sure? 718 01:07:07,175 --> 01:07:10,008 More sure than I've ever been about anything. 719 01:07:13,509 --> 01:07:16,044 Then give me the phone and my address book. 720 01:07:18,134 --> 01:07:19,331 Now? 721 01:07:19,967 --> 01:07:21,673 Then when? 722 01:07:26,675 --> 01:07:28,583 Yes, much better. 723 01:07:29,175 --> 01:07:32,090 It was gracious of you to come. 724 01:07:33,009 --> 01:07:34,585 I called to ask, 725 01:07:35,175 --> 01:07:36,834 if you have time, 726 01:07:37,009 --> 01:07:38,715 if I may pay you a visit tomorrow morning. 727 01:07:39,217 --> 01:07:41,373 It's an honorable matter. 728 01:07:42,134 --> 01:07:43,164 Nine o'clock? 729 01:07:43,342 --> 01:07:44,456 That's just fine. 730 01:07:44,634 --> 01:07:45,664 Until then. 731 01:07:58,759 --> 01:07:59,789 Go home. 732 01:07:59,967 --> 01:08:01,625 I'll call you in an hour. 733 01:08:01,884 --> 01:08:04,289 Okay. Good luck. 734 01:08:10,342 --> 01:08:11,372 Hello? 735 01:08:11,467 --> 01:08:12,545 The General accepted. 736 01:08:12,634 --> 01:08:14,671 - He accepted? - Yes, he accepted. 737 01:08:14,759 --> 01:08:17,294 But Soraya jan wants to talk to you first. 738 01:08:17,842 --> 01:08:20,128 - About what? - About what? 739 01:08:20,217 --> 01:08:23,334 How do I know about what? She wants to talk to you. 740 01:08:23,509 --> 01:08:25,334 Okay. Okay. I'm on my way. 741 01:08:41,009 --> 01:08:44,505 How are you? Come inside and have some tea. 742 01:08:45,342 --> 01:08:47,665 He didn't come for tea. 743 01:08:48,134 --> 01:08:50,836 It doesn't matter, we're going out for a walk. 744 01:08:55,675 --> 01:08:57,749 You do want to get married? 745 01:08:59,009 --> 01:09:01,497 - To me, I mean. - Of course I do. 746 01:09:03,842 --> 01:09:06,710 It's just... I want to tell you something, 747 01:09:07,884 --> 01:09:09,921 something you need to know. 748 01:09:11,259 --> 01:09:13,463 I don't want us to start with secrets. 749 01:09:17,009 --> 01:09:19,497 We lived in Virginia before we came here. 750 01:09:19,592 --> 01:09:21,215 We left because 751 01:09:22,842 --> 01:09:25,165 I ran away with an Afghan man. 752 01:09:25,884 --> 01:09:29,000 I was 18. I guess I thought I was being rebellious. 753 01:09:29,842 --> 01:09:32,331 We lived together for almost a month. 754 01:09:33,550 --> 01:09:36,383 All the Afghans in Virginia were talking about it. 755 01:09:38,592 --> 01:09:39,871 My father eventually found us. 756 01:09:39,967 --> 01:09:43,831 He showed up at the door and he made me come home. 757 01:09:43,925 --> 01:09:47,457 I was hysterical, and I told him I hated him. 758 01:09:50,592 --> 01:09:53,294 We moved out to California a few weeks later. 759 01:09:53,842 --> 01:09:57,373 I didn't talk to my father for a very long time. And now... 760 01:09:58,800 --> 01:10:01,798 Now I feel like he's the reason why I'm here. 761 01:10:04,300 --> 01:10:06,623 Does what I told you bother you? 762 01:10:08,175 --> 01:10:09,502 A little. 763 01:10:11,009 --> 01:10:13,544 Does it bother you enough to change your mind? 764 01:10:14,634 --> 01:10:15,961 No. 765 01:10:17,342 --> 01:10:19,132 Not even close. 766 01:10:21,634 --> 01:10:23,708 I'd marry you tonight if I could. 767 01:11:53,467 --> 01:11:54,960 What do you see? 768 01:11:56,800 --> 01:11:58,590 The rest of my life. 769 01:12:53,842 --> 01:12:57,539 - They're so funny. - They were crazy. 770 01:12:59,884 --> 01:13:01,460 That's a funny picture. 771 01:13:03,009 --> 01:13:04,336 They're so cute. 772 01:13:05,509 --> 01:13:08,293 - Amir jan? - Right here, Baba. 773 01:13:08,384 --> 01:13:10,007 Help me to bed. 774 01:13:10,467 --> 01:13:11,711 Of course. 775 01:13:31,384 --> 01:13:34,050 I'll come back with your morphine and a glass of water. 776 01:13:34,634 --> 01:13:35,664 No. 777 01:13:36,134 --> 01:13:37,875 There is no pain tonight. 778 01:13:40,425 --> 01:13:42,463 Come here, my daughter. 779 01:14:56,134 --> 01:14:57,377 San Francisco 2000 780 01:14:57,467 --> 01:14:59,257 It will not be easy. 781 01:15:00,134 --> 01:15:02,373 But you must come, Amir. 782 01:15:03,967 --> 01:15:05,128 All right. 783 01:15:05,217 --> 01:15:06,247 You're a good man. 784 01:15:06,342 --> 01:15:07,503 God willing. 785 01:15:07,800 --> 01:15:10,289 Goodbye. 786 01:15:26,925 --> 01:15:28,299 You all right? 787 01:15:29,800 --> 01:15:31,459 I have to go to Pakistan. 788 01:15:33,134 --> 01:15:34,413 Pakistan? 789 01:15:35,175 --> 01:15:37,131 Rahim Khan is very sick. 790 01:15:37,634 --> 01:15:39,957 Your father's friend? 791 01:15:40,050 --> 01:15:41,875 Is it safe right now? 792 01:15:44,175 --> 01:15:46,083 What about the book tour? 793 01:15:48,509 --> 01:15:51,460 There wouldn't be any books if not for Rahim Khan. 794 01:16:00,134 --> 01:16:02,124 Peshawar, Pakistan 795 01:16:02,217 --> 01:16:04,254 It's terrible what's happening in your country. 796 01:16:04,342 --> 01:16:07,174 Afghani people and Pakistani people, they are like brothers. 797 01:16:07,259 --> 01:16:08,965 Muslim have to help Muslim. 798 01:16:10,300 --> 01:16:13,085 They call this area Afghan Town. 799 01:16:13,175 --> 01:16:16,506 Sometimes it feels like Peshawar is a suburb of Kabul. 800 01:16:23,175 --> 01:16:24,668 This way. 801 01:16:45,592 --> 01:16:47,133 Amir jan. 802 01:16:49,634 --> 01:16:51,126 Amir jan. 803 01:16:51,342 --> 01:16:54,009 Welcome, welcome. 804 01:16:55,800 --> 01:16:58,289 You've become a man. 805 01:16:58,634 --> 01:17:00,957 General Taheri's daughter. 806 01:17:01,467 --> 01:17:03,588 She's a beauty. 807 01:17:05,134 --> 01:17:07,041 Any children? 808 01:17:10,342 --> 01:17:12,000 We tried, but 809 01:17:13,050 --> 01:17:15,586 it doesn't seem possible for us. 810 01:17:17,759 --> 01:17:18,920 Thank you. 811 01:17:21,675 --> 01:17:24,377 How long have you been in Pakistan? 812 01:17:24,592 --> 01:17:28,668 Less than a year. Kabul is no longer safe for me. 813 01:17:29,467 --> 01:17:31,837 The Taliban are as bad as they say? 814 01:17:32,425 --> 01:17:33,622 Oh, worse. 815 01:17:33,717 --> 01:17:37,213 Much worse. They don't let you be human. 816 01:17:37,550 --> 01:17:40,548 They even banned kite flying. 817 01:17:44,342 --> 01:17:46,628 I have something for you. 818 01:17:51,800 --> 01:17:53,174 What's this? 819 01:17:54,884 --> 01:17:56,081 Look. 820 01:18:05,342 --> 01:18:09,418 "For Rahim Khan, who listened to my stories 821 01:18:10,342 --> 01:18:12,582 "before I knew how to write them." 822 01:18:20,634 --> 01:18:22,624 This is a great honor, Amir. 823 01:18:29,634 --> 01:18:31,506 Let me take you home with me. 824 01:18:32,300 --> 01:18:34,504 I can find you a good doctor. 825 01:18:35,175 --> 01:18:37,711 They're coming up with new treatments all the time. 826 01:18:40,217 --> 01:18:41,923 Amir, Amir, Amir. 827 01:18:44,300 --> 01:18:47,464 I see America has infused you with her optimism. 828 01:18:48,675 --> 01:18:52,041 But there is such a thing as God's will. 829 01:18:56,425 --> 01:18:57,752 Come, sit. 830 01:18:59,717 --> 01:19:02,798 I didn't bring you here to complain about my health. 831 01:19:04,300 --> 01:19:08,757 Forgive me, Amir jan. Forgive me for what I have to tell you. 832 01:19:14,134 --> 01:19:15,757 Hassan is dead. 833 01:19:23,342 --> 01:19:24,456 How? 834 01:19:26,009 --> 01:19:29,291 You know I watched over your father's house after you left. 835 01:19:31,092 --> 01:19:34,707 But none of the caretakers I hired lasted more than a year. 836 01:19:35,717 --> 01:19:38,419 Some were dishonest, some lazy. 837 01:19:40,467 --> 01:19:43,879 So a few years ago I went to Hazarajat 838 01:19:45,800 --> 01:19:48,502 and brought Hassan and his family home with me. 839 01:19:51,092 --> 01:19:55,133 His wife, Farzana, and his son, Sohrab. 840 01:19:57,509 --> 01:19:59,250 Rostam and Sohrab 841 01:20:01,467 --> 01:20:03,588 It was so good to have them there. 842 01:20:05,300 --> 01:20:08,168 Hassan kept the house from falling apart. 843 01:20:08,467 --> 01:20:11,134 And Farzana cooked the meals. 844 01:20:11,509 --> 01:20:12,788 It was good. 845 01:20:13,134 --> 01:20:14,674 Very good. 846 01:20:16,217 --> 01:20:18,670 But when my health began to fail, 847 01:20:18,759 --> 01:20:22,835 well, there isn't a hospital in Afghanistan that can help me, 848 01:20:22,925 --> 01:20:24,335 so I came here. 849 01:20:26,425 --> 01:20:30,206 A few weeks after I left, the Taliban came to the house. 850 01:20:30,300 --> 01:20:34,128 Hassan told them that he was looking after the house for me, but... 851 01:20:35,300 --> 01:20:39,543 They said that he was a liar and a thief like all the other Hazaras. 852 01:20:39,634 --> 01:20:42,834 And they ordered him to leave with his family by nightfall. 853 01:20:44,759 --> 01:20:47,212 Hassan wouldn't leave. 854 01:20:47,800 --> 01:20:52,374 So they took him to the street and ordered him to kneel 855 01:20:54,592 --> 01:20:57,341 and shot him in the back of the head. 856 01:20:59,384 --> 01:21:02,832 Farzana came screaming and attacked them and... 857 01:21:05,217 --> 01:21:06,840 They shot her, too. 858 01:21:09,092 --> 01:21:10,419 And the boy? 859 01:21:13,300 --> 01:21:14,414 Sohrab? 860 01:21:15,300 --> 01:21:18,168 He is in an orphanage 861 01:21:20,384 --> 01:21:22,125 in Karteh Seh. 862 01:21:23,592 --> 01:21:27,456 Hassan sent this to me a week before he died. 863 01:21:29,800 --> 01:21:31,258 It's for you. 864 01:21:36,509 --> 01:21:38,832 He taught himself to read and write. 865 01:21:40,884 --> 01:21:44,581 He didn't want to send you a letter until he could do it properly. 866 01:21:51,592 --> 01:21:52,789 Amir, 867 01:21:55,050 --> 01:21:57,254 you need to go back to Kabul. 868 01:21:58,259 --> 01:22:00,961 I've arranged for a driver. He's a good man. 869 01:22:01,050 --> 01:22:02,757 I can't go back to Kabul. 870 01:22:03,509 --> 01:22:07,088 Can't you pay someone here to go? I'll pay for it if it's a matter of money. 871 01:22:07,175 --> 01:22:08,917 It's not about money. 872 01:22:10,967 --> 01:22:12,625 You are a storyteller. 873 01:22:13,384 --> 01:22:15,954 Some part of you has always known this story. 874 01:22:18,050 --> 01:22:20,918 Ali's first wife was from Jaghori. 875 01:22:22,300 --> 01:22:24,919 What does that have to do with anything? 876 01:22:25,259 --> 01:22:28,541 After five years she left him childless, 877 01:22:29,592 --> 01:22:31,832 and married a man from Khost. 878 01:22:33,925 --> 01:22:36,331 She bore that man three daughters. 879 01:22:37,925 --> 01:22:40,923 Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you? 880 01:22:41,925 --> 01:22:44,046 Ali was sterile. 881 01:22:45,509 --> 01:22:46,966 But he had Hassan. 882 01:22:47,050 --> 01:22:50,416 He raised Hassan. He didn't father him. 883 01:22:52,300 --> 01:22:57,123 Your father loved you both because you were both his sons, 884 01:22:57,217 --> 01:22:59,706 - and Sohrab... - No. 885 01:23:00,092 --> 01:23:01,371 He's your nephew. 886 01:23:01,467 --> 01:23:03,257 I don't believe you. 887 01:23:04,550 --> 01:23:05,664 You do. 888 01:23:06,675 --> 01:23:08,547 That's what frightens you. 889 01:23:09,592 --> 01:23:11,250 You're saying 890 01:23:12,592 --> 01:23:13,753 my father, 891 01:23:15,092 --> 01:23:17,415 for all those years, 892 01:23:18,134 --> 01:23:19,792 lied to me. 893 01:23:20,759 --> 01:23:21,920 Please think. 894 01:23:23,092 --> 01:23:27,749 All that a man had back then was his honor, his name, 895 01:23:28,009 --> 01:23:29,667 and if people talked... 896 01:23:29,759 --> 01:23:32,508 - He lied to me. - He lied to both of you. 897 01:23:33,342 --> 01:23:36,506 And now there is a way to be good again. 898 01:24:18,009 --> 01:24:21,007 "In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate, 899 01:24:21,092 --> 01:24:24,422 Amir agha, with my deepest respects. 900 01:24:25,092 --> 01:24:28,125 My wife and son and I pray this letter finds you in fine health, 901 01:24:28,217 --> 01:24:30,587 and in the light of God's good graces. 902 01:24:30,675 --> 01:24:33,294 I'm hopeful that one day I will hold one of your letters in my hands 903 01:24:33,384 --> 01:24:35,872 and read of your life in America. 904 01:24:35,967 --> 01:24:39,664 I am trying to learn English. It's such a tricky language. 905 01:24:39,759 --> 01:24:43,006 But one day, agha. I miss your stories. 906 01:24:44,134 --> 01:24:47,085 I've included a picture of me and my son, Sohrab. 907 01:24:47,175 --> 01:24:48,965 He's a good boy. 908 01:24:49,050 --> 01:24:50,875 Rahim Khan and I taught him how to read and write, 909 01:24:50,967 --> 01:24:53,799 so he doesn't grow up stupid like his father. 910 01:24:53,884 --> 01:24:57,084 And can he shoot with that slingshot you gave me! 911 01:24:59,092 --> 01:25:02,374 But I fear for him, Amir agha. 912 01:25:02,467 --> 01:25:05,038 The Afghanistan of our youth is long dead. 913 01:25:05,134 --> 01:25:10,087 Kindness is gone from the land, and you cannot escape the killings. 914 01:25:10,175 --> 01:25:12,249 Always the killings. 915 01:25:12,342 --> 01:25:15,624 I dream that God will guide us to a better day. 916 01:25:15,717 --> 01:25:19,296 I dream that my son will grow up to be a good person, 917 01:25:19,384 --> 01:25:21,623 a free person, 918 01:25:21,717 --> 01:25:23,542 an important person. 919 01:25:23,634 --> 01:25:26,585 I dream that flowers will bloom in the streets of Kabul again, 920 01:25:26,675 --> 01:25:29,673 and music will play in the samovar houses, 921 01:25:29,759 --> 01:25:32,757 and kites will fly in the skies. 922 01:25:32,842 --> 01:25:35,544 And I dream that someday you will return to Kabul 923 01:25:35,634 --> 01:25:38,336 to revisit the land of our childhood. 924 01:25:38,425 --> 01:25:42,715 If you do, you'll find an old faithful friend waiting for you. 925 01:25:43,550 --> 01:25:46,584 May God be with you always. 926 01:25:46,675 --> 01:25:48,251 Hassan. 927 01:26:00,592 --> 01:26:01,753 Hello? 928 01:26:02,592 --> 01:26:03,753 Hi. 929 01:26:05,217 --> 01:26:07,706 - Did I wake you up? - No. 930 01:26:09,050 --> 01:26:10,591 You all right? 931 01:26:11,717 --> 01:26:13,672 I have to tell you a story. 932 01:26:16,759 --> 01:26:18,086 What's his name? 933 01:26:43,884 --> 01:26:45,756 Stop playing with it. 934 01:26:47,134 --> 01:26:49,041 I really have to wear it? 935 01:26:49,967 --> 01:26:54,292 You know what the Taliban will do to you if they see you are clean-shaven? 936 01:27:50,175 --> 01:27:52,415 So what brings you back to Afghanistan? 937 01:27:52,509 --> 01:27:55,590 Come to sell off your father's land, pocket the money? 938 01:27:56,634 --> 01:27:58,423 I'm not here to sell anything. 939 01:27:59,342 --> 01:28:01,498 I'm going to Kabul to find a boy. 940 01:28:02,759 --> 01:28:04,251 A boy? 941 01:28:12,717 --> 01:28:14,293 This boy? 942 01:28:14,384 --> 01:28:16,458 This Hazara boy? 943 01:28:16,550 --> 01:28:17,960 Yeah. 944 01:28:19,175 --> 01:28:21,131 What he means to you? 945 01:28:23,467 --> 01:28:27,295 His father meant a lot to me. He's the man in the photo. 946 01:28:28,675 --> 01:28:30,382 He's dead now. 947 01:28:31,634 --> 01:28:33,624 It was a friend of yours? 948 01:28:35,300 --> 01:28:36,841 He was my brother. 949 01:28:44,967 --> 01:28:47,634 I feel like a tourist in my own country. 950 01:28:47,925 --> 01:28:51,457 You've always been a tourist here. You just didn't know it. 951 01:28:56,009 --> 01:28:59,753 - What happened to the trees? - The Russians chopped them down. 952 01:29:10,384 --> 01:29:12,374 You know what they're doing? 953 01:29:14,092 --> 01:29:15,633 He's selling his leg? 954 01:29:16,300 --> 01:29:18,457 He can get good money for it. 955 01:29:18,550 --> 01:29:20,956 Feed your kids for a couple of weeks. 956 01:29:34,634 --> 01:29:36,671 - What's that smell? - Diesel. 957 01:29:38,217 --> 01:29:41,499 The power's always going off so people use generators. 958 01:29:43,634 --> 01:29:46,797 Do you remember what this street smelled like in the old days? 959 01:29:49,425 --> 01:29:53,798 Lamb kabob. 960 01:29:58,967 --> 01:30:01,586 Beard patrol. 961 01:30:06,425 --> 01:30:07,966 What's the matter with you? 962 01:30:08,592 --> 01:30:09,622 What? 963 01:30:09,717 --> 01:30:12,003 Don't you ever stare at them! 964 01:30:13,300 --> 01:30:14,674 Understand me? 965 01:30:15,300 --> 01:30:16,331 Never! 966 01:31:10,884 --> 01:31:12,625 We're looking for this boy. 967 01:31:12,717 --> 01:31:14,873 I'm sorry. I've never seen him. 968 01:31:15,342 --> 01:31:17,628 You barely looked at the picture, my friend. 969 01:31:17,759 --> 01:31:19,796 I know all the children here 970 01:31:20,467 --> 01:31:22,292 and that one doesn't look familiar. 971 01:31:22,800 --> 01:31:24,341 And now, if you'll permit me... 972 01:31:24,550 --> 01:31:26,173 We don't mean him any harm. 973 01:31:26,300 --> 01:31:28,007 I told you he's not here. 974 01:31:28,134 --> 01:31:30,622 - Now, please, go away. - Friend, we are not with the Taliban. 975 01:31:30,717 --> 01:31:32,921 The man wants to take this boy to a safe place. 976 01:31:33,217 --> 01:31:34,840 I knew Sohrab's father. 977 01:31:35,217 --> 01:31:36,378 His name was Hassan. 978 01:31:36,967 --> 01:31:39,372 There's hope for this boy, Agha. 979 01:31:39,842 --> 01:31:41,383 A way out. 980 01:31:42,050 --> 01:31:43,958 I can take him back to America with me. 981 01:31:45,425 --> 01:31:47,416 I'm his uncle. 982 01:31:52,800 --> 01:31:55,336 What I have to tell you is not pleasant. 983 01:31:55,967 --> 01:31:58,669 I tell you, because I believe you. 984 01:31:59,217 --> 01:32:01,836 You have the look of desperate men. 985 01:32:08,592 --> 01:32:11,080 There is a Talib official. 986 01:32:12,092 --> 01:32:14,378 He visits every month or two. 987 01:32:15,342 --> 01:32:17,628 He brings cash with him. 988 01:32:17,800 --> 01:32:20,964 Not a lot, but better than nothing. 989 01:32:22,134 --> 01:32:24,208 Usually, he takes a girl. 990 01:32:25,300 --> 01:32:26,959 But not always. 991 01:32:28,759 --> 01:32:30,086 And you allow this? 992 01:32:30,675 --> 01:32:32,298 What choice do I have? 993 01:32:33,134 --> 01:32:34,461 You're the director here. 994 01:32:35,009 --> 01:32:36,834 Your job is to watch over these children. 995 01:32:36,925 --> 01:32:38,335 There is nothing I can do. 996 01:32:38,425 --> 01:32:40,546 - You're selling children! - Easy. 997 01:32:40,634 --> 01:32:41,830 You're here to protect them! 998 01:32:41,925 --> 01:32:43,039 Yes, 999 01:32:43,134 --> 01:32:44,626 I am here to protect them. 1000 01:32:44,884 --> 01:32:45,997 Sit. 1001 01:32:48,092 --> 01:32:49,834 And you, brother? 1002 01:32:50,259 --> 01:32:53,043 You come here to rescue a boy, 1003 01:32:53,342 --> 01:32:56,257 take him back to America, give him a good life. 1004 01:32:57,050 --> 01:32:59,254 It must seem heroic, huh? 1005 01:32:59,884 --> 01:33:02,207 But what of the other two hundred children? 1006 01:33:02,592 --> 01:33:04,334 You'll never see them again. 1007 01:33:04,425 --> 01:33:06,914 You'll never hear them howling in the night. 1008 01:33:07,884 --> 01:33:10,207 I spent my life savings on this orphanage. 1009 01:33:10,342 --> 01:33:14,501 Everything I owned or inherited I sold to run this godforsaken place. 1010 01:33:15,675 --> 01:33:19,621 You think I don't have family in Pakistan or Iran? 1011 01:33:20,300 --> 01:33:23,382 I could have run like everyone else. 1012 01:33:24,675 --> 01:33:27,626 If I deny him one child, he takes 10. 1013 01:33:28,550 --> 01:33:31,169 So, I let him take one, 1014 01:33:31,717 --> 01:33:34,585 and leave the judging to Allah. 1015 01:33:35,842 --> 01:33:38,674 I take his filthy money, and I go to the bazaar, 1016 01:33:39,342 --> 01:33:40,669 and I buy food for the children. 1017 01:33:42,259 --> 01:33:44,961 You think I spend it on myself? 1018 01:33:45,759 --> 01:33:47,216 Look at me. 1019 01:33:48,592 --> 01:33:49,670 Look. 1020 01:33:50,425 --> 01:33:52,297 What happens to the children he takes? 1021 01:33:53,759 --> 01:33:56,294 Sometimes, they come back, 1022 01:33:57,509 --> 01:33:59,464 more often, they don't. 1023 01:34:02,342 --> 01:34:04,167 Who is he? 1024 01:34:05,050 --> 01:34:07,337 How do I find him? 1025 01:34:11,175 --> 01:34:14,173 Go to the Ghazi Stadium tomorrow. 1026 01:34:14,342 --> 01:34:17,754 You'll see him at halftime. 1027 01:34:18,717 --> 01:34:21,384 He'll be the one making speeches. 1028 01:34:22,300 --> 01:34:25,962 Now, please leave. You've frightened the children. 1029 01:34:28,717 --> 01:34:30,340 Pull over here. 1030 01:35:16,675 --> 01:35:17,705 We should go. 1031 01:35:23,175 --> 01:35:24,633 I have to look at one more thing. 1032 01:35:24,717 --> 01:35:26,838 Nothing that you remember has survived. 1033 01:35:26,925 --> 01:35:28,335 Better to forget. 1034 01:35:29,384 --> 01:35:31,173 I don't want to forget any more. 1035 01:37:09,759 --> 01:37:11,666 Do you want to stay here? 1036 01:37:12,509 --> 01:37:14,167 No, but we have to. 1037 01:37:25,467 --> 01:37:26,628 That's him. 1038 01:37:34,717 --> 01:37:36,126 Brothers and sisters! 1039 01:37:36,634 --> 01:37:38,920 We are here today to carry out Shari'a. 1040 01:37:39,259 --> 01:37:41,415 We are here today to carry out justice. 1041 01:37:41,925 --> 01:37:44,129 We listen to what God says, and we obey. 1042 01:37:44,509 --> 01:37:45,587 And what does God say? 1043 01:37:45,800 --> 01:37:49,580 Every sinner must be punished in a manner befitting his sin. 1044 01:37:50,175 --> 01:37:53,375 Those are not my words, nor the words of my brothers. 1045 01:37:53,675 --> 01:37:55,583 Those are the words of God! 1046 01:37:55,759 --> 01:37:58,626 And what manner of punishment benefits the adulterer? 1047 01:37:58,842 --> 01:38:02,966 How shall we punish those who dishonor the sanctity of marriage? 1048 01:38:03,842 --> 01:38:07,539 How shall we deal with those who disobey God? 1049 01:38:08,175 --> 01:38:12,216 How shall we answer those who throw stones at the windows of God's house? 1050 01:38:13,175 --> 01:38:15,842 We shall throw stones back! 1051 01:38:41,300 --> 01:38:42,414 My friend. 1052 01:38:42,634 --> 01:38:44,671 My friend, a word? 1053 01:38:46,009 --> 01:38:47,834 We have business with your brother. 1054 01:38:50,300 --> 01:38:52,172 Personal business. 1055 01:39:52,842 --> 01:39:56,836 I guess I'll wait in the car. This is your business now. 1056 01:39:58,259 --> 01:40:00,545 Thank you for helping me. 1057 01:40:12,342 --> 01:40:14,132 Anyone there? 1058 01:40:18,050 --> 01:40:20,883 I was told to come here. 1059 01:40:25,300 --> 01:40:26,330 Come in. 1060 01:40:27,509 --> 01:40:28,539 Thank you. 1061 01:40:41,217 --> 01:40:42,674 How soft. 1062 01:41:20,384 --> 01:41:21,545 Sit down. 1063 01:41:22,550 --> 01:41:23,712 Sit down. 1064 01:41:56,509 --> 01:41:58,832 I think there's been a mistake. 1065 01:41:59,175 --> 01:42:01,664 I came to see your friend. 1066 01:42:03,259 --> 01:42:05,664 The man who made the speech at the stadium. 1067 01:42:06,175 --> 01:42:08,000 He has other business. 1068 01:42:08,634 --> 01:42:10,505 You can do away with that now. 1069 01:42:13,342 --> 01:42:15,000 I'm not sure what you mean. 1070 01:42:15,675 --> 01:42:17,133 Take off your beard. 1071 01:42:33,134 --> 01:42:35,587 One of the better ones I've seen. 1072 01:42:36,925 --> 01:42:38,169 Take off the turban. 1073 01:42:44,300 --> 01:42:45,758 You come from America? 1074 01:42:48,092 --> 01:42:49,253 Yes. 1075 01:42:53,467 --> 01:42:54,628 I'm looking for a boy. 1076 01:42:55,134 --> 01:42:57,124 Isn't everybody? 1077 01:42:58,884 --> 01:43:01,798 I understand your friend brought him here. 1078 01:43:02,675 --> 01:43:04,168 His name is Sohrab. 1079 01:43:05,134 --> 01:43:06,959 Let me ask you something. 1080 01:43:07,717 --> 01:43:09,957 What are you doing with that whore America? 1081 01:43:10,634 --> 01:43:12,292 Why aren't you here 1082 01:43:12,967 --> 01:43:15,586 with your Muslim brothers, serving your country. 1083 01:43:16,717 --> 01:43:19,170 I've been away for a long time. 1084 01:43:20,384 --> 01:43:21,711 That's an answer? 1085 01:43:23,300 --> 01:43:24,923 Not an answer, they say. 1086 01:43:26,759 --> 01:43:29,164 I'm only here for the boy. 1087 01:43:30,217 --> 01:43:31,461 Do you want to see him? 1088 01:44:11,134 --> 01:44:12,330 Come, my boy. 1089 01:44:18,800 --> 01:44:20,672 Such a talented little Hazara. 1090 01:44:22,050 --> 01:44:23,543 Leave us be. 1091 01:44:27,717 --> 01:44:28,961 I've been wondering, 1092 01:44:29,342 --> 01:44:32,174 whatever happened to your great Baba, anyway? 1093 01:44:33,925 --> 01:44:35,003 What did you think? 1094 01:44:35,467 --> 01:44:37,837 That you'd put on a fake beard and I wouldn't recognize you? 1095 01:44:38,967 --> 01:44:41,337 I knew you the second I saw you in the stadium. 1096 01:44:41,592 --> 01:44:44,211 I never forget a face. Never! 1097 01:44:45,634 --> 01:44:47,091 Assef? 1098 01:44:47,300 --> 01:44:48,497 Amir jan. 1099 01:44:50,425 --> 01:44:51,799 What are you doing here? 1100 01:44:52,009 --> 01:44:53,252 Me? 1101 01:44:53,467 --> 01:44:55,125 I'm home. 1102 01:44:55,800 --> 01:44:57,957 The question is, what are you doing here? 1103 01:45:00,217 --> 01:45:02,124 I'm taking the boy home with me. 1104 01:45:05,842 --> 01:45:07,216 You want my advice? 1105 01:45:07,717 --> 01:45:08,996 Run away. 1106 01:45:09,384 --> 01:45:11,042 That's what you do best. 1107 01:45:12,467 --> 01:45:14,125 Not without Sohrab. 1108 01:45:15,842 --> 01:45:17,039 Why's that? 1109 01:45:17,342 --> 01:45:18,918 The boy's too good for his country? 1110 01:45:19,092 --> 01:45:20,834 What do you know about Afghanistan? 1111 01:45:21,467 --> 01:45:23,422 You weren't here when the Communists shot our mullahs 1112 01:45:23,509 --> 01:45:25,001 and pissed in our mosques. 1113 01:45:25,092 --> 01:45:28,292 This country was like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage. 1114 01:45:28,425 --> 01:45:31,589 We took out the garbage. We brought law. We brought justice. 1115 01:45:31,675 --> 01:45:33,583 I have seen your laws 1116 01:45:33,967 --> 01:45:35,625 and your justice. 1117 01:45:36,175 --> 01:45:38,130 And I'm taking the boy home with me. 1118 01:45:38,217 --> 01:45:39,758 All right, then. 1119 01:45:44,384 --> 01:45:47,251 Of course, I didn't say you could take him for free. 1120 01:46:18,842 --> 01:46:20,169 No more. 1121 01:46:20,592 --> 01:46:22,298 No more, Agha. Please, stop hurting him. 1122 01:46:22,592 --> 01:46:25,673 Put it down, Hazara. You'll get yours next. 1123 01:46:26,800 --> 01:46:27,830 Put it down! 1124 01:46:33,675 --> 01:46:34,753 Get it out! 1125 01:46:37,717 --> 01:46:39,589 Get it out! 1126 01:47:07,550 --> 01:47:09,043 Kill him! 1127 01:48:26,050 --> 01:48:29,214 Go home to your family. 1128 01:48:43,092 --> 01:48:44,419 Are you Amir? 1129 01:48:46,550 --> 01:48:49,217 Rahim Khan left this for you. 1130 01:48:50,050 --> 01:48:51,377 Where did he go? 1131 01:48:52,050 --> 01:48:54,124 I did not ask. 1132 01:48:55,300 --> 01:48:56,793 But he'll be back? 1133 01:48:57,717 --> 01:49:01,165 He has left us, my child. 1134 01:49:18,009 --> 01:49:19,964 You're wasting your hand. 1135 01:49:38,259 --> 01:49:39,502 Sohrab? 1136 01:49:49,175 --> 01:49:50,372 Sohrab? 1137 01:50:12,175 --> 01:50:13,289 Sohrab? 1138 01:50:31,259 --> 01:50:32,420 Sohrab? 1139 01:51:12,050 --> 01:51:14,669 Take off your shoes, dear brother. 1140 01:51:16,092 --> 01:51:17,881 Forgive me. 1141 01:52:35,675 --> 01:52:38,590 I thought I lost you. 1142 01:52:46,134 --> 01:52:49,380 He used to come get me in the morning before prayers. 1143 01:52:51,550 --> 01:52:54,217 I didn't want him to get me any more. 1144 01:52:58,884 --> 01:53:01,289 He won't, Sohrab. 1145 01:53:02,759 --> 01:53:04,500 I swear to you, 1146 01:53:06,009 --> 01:53:08,248 he can't get you any more. 1147 01:53:10,050 --> 01:53:12,041 Are your parents dead? 1148 01:53:15,259 --> 01:53:16,538 Yes. 1149 01:53:18,550 --> 01:53:20,920 Do you remember what they look like? 1150 01:53:23,717 --> 01:53:25,340 I never met my mother. 1151 01:53:27,717 --> 01:53:30,087 I remember what my father looked like. 1152 01:53:31,592 --> 01:53:34,424 I'm starting to forget their faces. 1153 01:53:35,800 --> 01:53:37,542 Is that bad? 1154 01:53:46,925 --> 01:53:48,715 Here. 1155 01:53:53,925 --> 01:53:57,705 Sometimes I'm glad they're dead. 1156 01:53:58,967 --> 01:54:00,045 Why? 1157 01:54:02,675 --> 01:54:03,789 Because... 1158 01:54:05,175 --> 01:54:07,545 Because I don't want them to see me. 1159 01:54:09,342 --> 01:54:11,463 I'm so dirty. 1160 01:54:13,342 --> 01:54:14,621 You're not dirty. 1161 01:54:23,967 --> 01:54:25,543 I won't hurt you. 1162 01:54:37,009 --> 01:54:38,336 That's my wife. 1163 01:54:44,134 --> 01:54:46,290 - Missed you. - Missed you, too. 1164 01:54:49,217 --> 01:54:51,456 Sohrab jan, this is your aunt. 1165 01:54:54,217 --> 01:54:55,959 We've all been waiting for you. 1166 01:54:56,675 --> 01:54:59,246 Ready to meet your new family? 1167 01:55:01,342 --> 01:55:02,539 Let's go. 1168 01:55:12,550 --> 01:55:15,383 Do you like your room? 1169 01:55:31,384 --> 01:55:32,924 You don't look so bad. 1170 01:55:36,550 --> 01:55:38,541 I don't think he's looked at me once. 1171 01:55:40,634 --> 01:55:42,091 Give him time. 1172 01:55:43,592 --> 01:55:46,376 I'm knitting him a turtleneck sweater for next winter. 1173 01:55:46,717 --> 01:55:49,419 The sweaters they sell here don't last a month. 1174 01:55:55,217 --> 01:55:56,496 Amir jan. 1175 01:55:56,592 --> 01:56:00,337 You're going to tell me why you've brought this boy back with you? 1176 01:56:02,550 --> 01:56:04,043 What sort of question is that? 1177 01:56:04,259 --> 01:56:06,877 While you're busy knitting sweaters, my dear, 1178 01:56:07,009 --> 01:56:09,711 I have to deal with the community perception of our family. 1179 01:56:10,217 --> 01:56:14,211 People will ask why there is a Hazara boy living with our daughter. 1180 01:56:14,300 --> 01:56:15,876 What do I tell them? 1181 01:56:17,550 --> 01:56:18,924 You can tell them... 1182 01:56:19,092 --> 01:56:20,289 It's all right. 1183 01:56:20,717 --> 01:56:22,091 The General is correct. 1184 01:56:22,592 --> 01:56:24,168 People will ask. 1185 01:56:24,592 --> 01:56:26,831 - Amir? - It's all right. 1186 01:56:32,967 --> 01:56:34,756 You see, General Sahib, 1187 01:56:35,800 --> 01:56:38,467 my father slept with his servant's wife. 1188 01:56:39,884 --> 01:56:42,419 And she bore him a son named Hassan. 1189 01:56:44,300 --> 01:56:45,923 Hassan is dead now. 1190 01:56:46,675 --> 01:56:50,088 That boy sleeping in the other room is Hassan's son. 1191 01:56:51,884 --> 01:56:53,376 He's my nephew. 1192 01:56:54,425 --> 01:56:57,092 That's what you tell people when they ask. 1193 01:56:59,092 --> 01:57:01,415 And one more thing, General Sahib. 1194 01:57:02,342 --> 01:57:06,466 You will never again refer to him as "a Hazara boy" in my presence. 1195 01:57:07,092 --> 01:57:11,251 He has a name, and it's Sohrab. 1196 01:57:37,384 --> 01:57:39,006 - It felt so real. - Thank you. 1197 01:57:39,092 --> 01:57:40,881 My pleasure. Thank you. 1198 01:57:40,967 --> 01:57:43,290 Look. Look at that. 1199 01:57:48,134 --> 01:57:49,710 Excuse me a second. 1200 01:57:56,134 --> 01:57:57,959 I'd like that kite, please. 1201 01:57:58,634 --> 01:58:00,292 And I'll take this spool. 1202 01:58:20,259 --> 01:58:21,668 Do you like the kite? 1203 01:58:27,759 --> 01:58:29,133 Did I ever tell you 1204 01:58:30,300 --> 01:58:31,330 your father 1205 01:58:31,967 --> 01:58:34,123 was the best kite runner in all Kabul? 1206 01:58:36,050 --> 01:58:38,799 He made all the neighborhood kids jealous. 1207 01:58:39,967 --> 01:58:41,294 He'd run the kites 1208 01:58:41,884 --> 01:58:44,716 and never look up at the sky. 1209 01:58:45,592 --> 01:58:47,215 Some claimed 1210 01:58:47,384 --> 01:58:50,417 he was just chasing the kite's shadow. 1211 01:58:50,967 --> 01:58:55,256 But they didn't know him like I did. 1212 01:58:56,092 --> 01:58:59,255 Your father wasn't chasing shadows. 1213 01:59:00,592 --> 01:59:02,417 He just knew. 1214 01:59:03,342 --> 01:59:04,883 That's all. 1215 01:59:10,342 --> 01:59:13,091 Do you want to help me fly this? 1216 01:59:14,425 --> 01:59:15,799 Okay. 1217 01:59:16,009 --> 01:59:18,213 Looks like I have to fly it solo. 1218 01:59:29,300 --> 01:59:30,923 Last chance. 1219 01:59:34,634 --> 01:59:35,877 Here I go. 1220 01:59:45,675 --> 01:59:47,216 It's a good kite, no? 1221 01:59:49,550 --> 01:59:51,043 Do you want to try? 1222 01:59:53,259 --> 01:59:54,455 Here. 1223 01:59:57,467 --> 01:59:58,924 Hold it tight, Sohrab jan. 1224 02:00:00,092 --> 02:00:01,501 Good job, Sohrab. 1225 02:00:14,092 --> 02:00:15,336 Pull, pull, pull! 1226 02:00:27,842 --> 02:00:29,714 Looks like someone wants a fight. 1227 02:00:31,509 --> 02:00:33,001 Are you sure? 1228 02:00:43,509 --> 02:00:45,464 Let's teach him a lesson, no? 1229 02:00:45,842 --> 02:00:47,335 Watch, Sohrab. 1230 02:00:47,634 --> 02:00:51,248 I'm going to show you one of your father's favorite tricks. 1231 02:00:51,384 --> 02:00:52,924 An old technique. 1232 02:00:53,467 --> 02:00:54,711 Lift and Dive. 1233 02:00:59,675 --> 02:01:01,168 Come. 1234 02:01:05,967 --> 02:01:07,460 Come closer. 1235 02:01:15,300 --> 02:01:16,841 Here he comes! 1236 02:01:17,717 --> 02:01:19,210 We're going to catch him now, right? 1237 02:01:32,134 --> 02:01:33,875 Look, I cut him! 1238 02:01:36,884 --> 02:01:38,625 What are you doing, you can't hold it right? 1239 02:01:38,717 --> 02:01:39,961 I'm sorry! 1240 02:01:40,384 --> 02:01:42,090 Do you want me to run that kite for you? 1241 02:01:44,675 --> 02:01:46,915 For you, a thousand times over.