Find Movies & TV
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
Explore
Movies & TV Shows
Most Popular
Leaving Soon
Categories
Action
Animation
Comedy
Crime
Descriptive Audio
Documentary
Drama
En Español
Horror
Music
Romance
Sci-Fi
Thriller
Western
Explore
Browse Channels
Featured Channels
Stargate by MGM
Hallmark Movies & More
The First 48 by A&E
Categories
Hit TV
Drama TV
True Crime
Comedy
News
Sports
Reality
History & Science
Movies
Sci-Fi & Action
Classic TV
Food & Home
Lifestyle
Nature & Travel
Daytime TV
Game Shows
Kids & Family
Anime+
Chills & Thrills
International
En Español
Music
Sign In
The Orphanage
Directed by
Shahrbanoo Sadat
2019
90m
Drama
,
Music
6.6
91%
92%
Add to Watchlist
A 15-year-old ticket scalper in Kabul dreams of Bollywood until the Soviets force him into a state facility.
More
Where to Watch The Orphanage
Hoopla
Free
Tubi TV
Free
Amazon Video
Rent $1.99
Buy $7.99
Cast of The Orphanage
Hasibullah Rasooli
Hasib
Masihullah Feraji
Feraji
Qodratollah Qadiri
Qodrat
Sediqa Rasuli
Sediqa
Anwar Hashimi
Anwar
Ahmad Fayaz Omadi
Fayaz
Shahrbanoo Sadat
Director / Writer
Katja Adomeit
Producer
The Orphanage Ratings & Reviews
AWFJ.org
Leslie Combemale
Fantastical scenes of the more idyllic or proactive life Quodrat dreams of are interspersed like scenes from one of the movies he loves, and it is this visual expression of his inner life that reveals to viewers the suffering and grief...
AWFJ.org
Nell Minow
Like the Antoine Doinel films of Francois Truffaut, Shahrbanoo Sadat and Anwar Hashimi are creating not just a series of films but a life story.
AWFJ.org
Jennifer Merin
Emotionally engaging, The Orphanage presents a picture of the hardship and deprivation that youngsters around the world endure when they are orphaned or abandoned due to war and poverty.
AWFJ.org
Sandie Angulo Chen
The best part of the film is that Qodrat routinely breaks into dream-like fantasies straight out of Bollywood films.
AWFJ.org
Cate Marquis
While events are told in a kid-centric, cinema-verite style, and are based on the diaries of Anwar Hashimi, Qodrat's inner life is periodically portrayed by Bollywood-like fantasy sequences, among the most charming parts of the film.
AWFJ.org
Nikki Baughan
Shahrbanoo Sadat's follow-up to her 2016 debut Wolf & Sheep is a sensitive, engaging portrait of adolescence in 1980s Afghanistan.
In Review Online
M.G. Mailloux
The Orphanage is almost competently made to a fault, curiously predictable for a film [but] one can see something more intriguing and subversive at work.
Los Angeles Times
Carlos Aguilar
Amid the missteps, the care the filmmaker has for this story prevails.
48 Hills
Dennis Harvey
It's a clumsy movie, not just in terms of storytelling but in its wildly inconsistent tone. Still, it does provide some insight into one recent chapter in Afghanistan's almost perpetually tormented history.
AWFJ.org
Sherin Nicole
In this almost Stand by Me of late 80s Afghanistan, writer/director Sadat explores survival, and both the quiet and the shattering moments of life as an orphaned teenage boy. Shot with the palette of the time and the sensitivity of documentary...
Easy Reader (California)
Neely Swanson
Based on the diary of Anwar Hashimi, a friend of Sadat, this independent film is definitely worth your time and reflection.
Film Threat
Alex Saveliev
Sadat is paving the way for other underrepresented filmmakers to share their fascinating stories. For now, I can't wait to see the third chapter of her epic visual odyssey.
AWFJ.org
Susan Wloszczyna
If The Orphanage does anything right, it will likely leave you wanting to know more about what happens next with these characters and the turmoil-filled land they live in.
Variety
Jay Weissberg
What sets "Orphanage" apart are the moments when Qodrat's imagination makes Bollywood-esque musical numbers out of his fantasies.
IONCINEMA.com
Nicholas Bell
The Orphanage is a beautifully photographed, quietly methodical portrait of 1989 Kabul.
The Hollywood Reporter
Jordan Mintzer
A small yet touching chronicle where innocent teenage boys fall prey to socio-political forces way beyond their control.
Take Plex everywhere
Watch free anytime, anywhere, on almost any device.
See the full list of supported devices
Home
Live TV
On Demand
Discover
