The Runner

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 nowhere.

“A work of astonishing power and simplicity, reminiscent of the finest Italian neo-realist films…The Runner’s waterside setting allows Naderi full rein for his strong sense of the visual…One suspects that Madjid Niroumand is not a professional actor, yet his seemingly spontaneous portrayal ranks among the finest ever given by a child.” — Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

“In Naderi’s clever mise en scene, the omnipresence of ocean liners, planes, and trains— modes of escape unavailable to him—heighten Amiro’s sense of entrapment and hopelessness. Like Buñuel, Naderi shows a keen understanding of children’s camaraderie and determination…The plot and setting of Iranian director Amir Naderi’s The Runner are reminiscent of Buñuel’s Los Olvidados and early Pasolini.” — Ted Shen, Chicago Reader

“Naderi is at his most evocative when he doesn’t spell things out completely, when he lets the powerful images of this handsome-faced boy speak for themselves…It stays with
you…Amir Naderi’s The Runner hovers somewhere between poetry and documentary.” — Hal Hinson, The Washington Post

“A SMALL JEWEL YOU MUST TRY TO SEE.” — Derek Malcolm, The Guardian