The Runner
1984·Drama·1h 34m
7.1
★
A young orphan named Amiro lives alone in an abandoned tanker in the Iranian port city of Abadan. He survives by shining shoes, selling water, and collecting deposit bottles. Although he sometimes finds himself at odds with both adults and competing older kids, he finds solace in dreams about departing cargo ships and airplanes—and by running.
Directed by Amir Naderi
orphan
iran
childhood
port city
farsi
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Majid Niroumand
Amiro
Abbas Nazeri
Crew
Amir Naderi
Director
Amir Naderi
Writer
Bahram Beyzai
Editor
Popular Reviews
13 reviews
Adams Keefer
10.0★ · 11/02/25
man oh man… completely took my breath away, wept multiple times tbh. the always present but ever distant pillars of modern globalization (cargo ships, planes, and trains) loom over a group of kids forced to sacrifice their education in order to survive.
cant help but think about today where one month we announce we’ve managed to cram another billion transistors onto a wafer of silicon the size of a stamp, and the next month we remove the funding that feeds underprivileged communities. so strange that we use inanimate objects as milestones for “human” achievement instead of the actual human experience.
*I got first, why did you keep going?
*
Because I wanted to see how far I could run.
cant help but think about today where one month we announce we’ve managed to cram another billion transistors onto a wafer of silicon the size of a stamp, and the next month we remove the funding that feeds underprivileged communities. so strange that we use inanimate objects as milestones for “human” achievement instead of the actual human experience.
*I got first, why did you keep going?
*
Because I wanted to see how far I could run.
man oh man… completely took my breath away, wept multiple times tbh. the always present but ever distant pillars of modern globalization (cargo ships, planes, and trains) loom over a group of kids forced to sacrifice their education in order to survive.
cant help but think about today where one month we announce we’ve managed to cram another billion transistors onto a wafer of silicon the size of a stamp, and the next month we remove the funding that feeds underprivileged communities. so strange that we use inanimate objects as milestones for “human” achievement instead of the actual human experience.
*I got first, why did you keep going?
*
Because I wanted to see how far I could run.
cant help but think about today where one month we announce we’ve managed to cram another billion transistors onto a wafer of silicon the size of a stamp, and the next month we remove the funding that feeds underprivileged communities. so strange that we use inanimate objects as milestones for “human” achievement instead of the actual human experience.
*I got first, why did you keep going?
*
Because I wanted to see how far I could run.
Nick Gates
9.9★ · 05/15/25
I’m never going to shut up about how good this movie is. It’s a masterpiece. One of the best I’ve ever seen.
Love love love love love it
Love love love love love it
I’m never going to shut up about how good this movie is. It’s a masterpiece. One of the best I’ve ever seen.
Love love love love love it
Love love love love love it
Pretentious
9.0★ · 05/06/25
On the grind, always hustling, even when the opportunity denies real inclusion. Therefore, resilience becomes an act of physical faith. Even if the finish line keeps moving. The Runner thrives on these contradictions. Essentially, the film condenses its mediation on how perception transforms the scale of everything we measure: hunger processed by need, longing created by distance, or ambition shaped by scorn. But Amiro's restlessness translates his instinctive thirst for everlasting hope.
On the grind, always hustling, even when the opportunity denies real inclusion. Therefore, resilience becomes an act of physical faith. Even if the finish line keeps moving. The Runner thrives on these contradictions. Essentially, the film condenses its mediation on how perception transforms the scale of everything we measure: hunger processed by need, longing created by distance, or ambition shaped by scorn. But Amiro's restlessness translates his instinctive thirst for everlasting hope.
francis
7.1★ · 12/12/24
idk if my attention span is getting worse but i struggled w this one
idk if my attention span is getting worse but i struggled w this one
kameron
4.0★ · 05/30/24
some very pretty cinematography throughout. but the interest just isn’t there for me as much as i was hoping
some very pretty cinematography throughout. but the interest just isn’t there for me as much as i was hoping