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Intro
A young Afghan boy named Jamal is playing football (soccer) with local boys in his village. Trouble arises, however, when his sister Bibi tries to join them. Her hair is uncovered, and she is not accompanied by an adult, both of which are illegal in Afghanistan. She starts playing anyway and kicks the ball into the mine-laden desert. Jamal follows her, rescuing her and a ball from an active tank—and later, with his friend Yusuf’s help, an inactive landmine.
When Jamal and Bibi get home, their dad reveals that their illegal school for girls has been discovered and that they need to flee the country. Jamal and Bibi spend the night in Yusuf’s grandfather’s house, where Jamal dedicates himself to becoming a professional football player. He believes this will make it so his family doesn’t have to leave Afghanistan. He sneaks out to practice football on the street and Bibi follows him. Suddenly, their house explodes. Their dad finds them, and Jamal realizes the government was responsible for the attack. They say goodbye to Yusuf and his grandfather and Yusuf gifts Jamal his football.
Jamal’s dad drives his taxi to an empty building outside the city and their leaves to pick up their mom from the football stadium. Jamal misunderstands the situation and decides to follow him. At the stadium, Jamal and Bibi see soldiers dragging women onto the field, and they realize one of them is their mom. The soldiers aim their guns at the women, but a taxi pulls into the stadium, throwing burning oil at the soldiers. Their mom gets in the taxi, and Jamal and Bibi realize their dad is the driver.
The family reunites at the empty building and Jamal helps his dad paint the taxi to disguise it. Jamal’s dad sells the taxi, buying them illegal passage out of the country—the family plans to ultimately move to Australia. A smuggler carries the family out of Afghanistan and to a refugee camp, where Jamal meets a boy (later revealed to be Omar) and hears from a Red Cross worker how great Australia is. Jamal and his family board a plane and Jamal realizes that not only are the men flying the plane smugglers, but that his mother sold her ancestor’s candlestick to buy their tickets. No one in his family seems happy, and Jamal feels their connection to the past has been broken.
Jamal and his family wait at the docks to board a boat to Australia. Boarding the boats is chaotic—after fighting with Omar and trying to rescue the football from the water, Jamal, Bibi, and Omar end up on a different ship than Jamal’s parents. Life on the boat is difficult, with little food and rampant seasickness. However, Jamal and Bibi befriend a girl named Rashida after saving her from a fire. She shares her food with them, including flour, which Jamal uses to bake bread. This lifts everyone’s spirits, but not for long. Midway through the trip, the smugglers stop the boat and demand more money. Thankfully, Rashida gives the smugglers an expensive watch that’s worth enough to pay for all of them—including Omar.
Bibi falls ill on her birthday and Jamal, Rashida, and Omar cheer her up with stories of Australia. Rashida reveals that she is originally from Australia, but her family moved to Afghanistan to take care of her grandparents. When the country stopped the family from returning home, her parents only had enough money to buy her way back.
A group of pirates board the boat, and Jamal disguises Bibi and Rashida as boys to protect them from being kidnapped. This ploy is successful, but when the pirates leave, the smugglers join them, abandoning everyone on the boat. The next day, a giant wave crashes onto the boat and it begins to sink. Jamal and Bibi help bail water, but they don’t make much progress. Thankfully, an Australian warship arrives and saves everyone on the boat.
Andrew, an Australian serviceman, reassures Jamal and Bibi and gives them food. However, when the warship docks, Jamal and Bibi are upset to find that their parents are not there. Andrew explains that they haven’t found the other boat but promises they will, and Jamal trusts him. The soldiers give the refugees tents to sleep in, and Jamal and Bibi play football against the servicemen while they wait for their parents to arrive. Soon, however, news reaches them that the other boat sank. Jamal tries to get a rescue boat launched, but none of the soldiers speak his language. Jamal also learns that the island they’re on is not actually Australia.
Jamal and Bibi are devastated by their parents’ death. Rashida brings them food and sits with them, but they don’t want to talk or eat. Jamal realizes just how alone he and Bibi are, and when Bibi falls asleep, he goes outside to plan for their future. Omar joins him, sharing details of his own painful past. Jamal realizes that people are more complicated than they might originally seem.
Bibi wakes Jamal excitedly the next morning, telling him the three survivors from the boat have arrived. Jamal follows her to the dock and is shocked to see his parents. Their family embraces, and their parents explain that the warship didn’t see them at first. They hug for a long time, and then Jamal and Bibi introduce Rashida and Omar to their parents.
Jamal talks with Andrew in his office, who apologizes for not telling him earlier about the island not being Australia. He explains sadly that Australia’s government no longer wants people from Afghanistan moving there, and Jamal consoles him. He tells Andrew that the secret of football is not giving up. Looking out the window at his family walking on the beach, Jamal feels happy and loved. Even though they’re not in Australia, to Jamal, it feels like they are.
