Children Of Heaven

Children of Heaven is an Iranian film from 1997. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. It has also achieved critical acclaim and other awards at the time of its release. This film has a very simplistic storyline and a short running time. Even with its very simple story the film never drags. This young boy, Ali, takes his sister’s shoes to be fixed, but on the way home stopping for vegetables, a blind trash collector unknowingly carries them away. They keep this hidden from their parents because his parents have no money to buy a new pair and they know if they tell them, they will get punished. They figure they can share Ali's sneakers. His sister wears them to school in the morning and runs to Ali on the other side of town at midday so he can attend afternoon classes. This gets Ali in trouble because he is late to class everyday. He then enters a footrace in hoping of getting the third prize of a new pair of sneakers and 2 weeks at a summer camp and other prizes, but he doesnt care about anything but the sneakers. He tells his sister that he will come in third. After a long foot race, he actually comes out in front and is very dissapointed.

A running theme of this film is the love shared between brother and sister. It’s rare to see a movie where siblings actually love and respect each other. Where one sibling goes out of his/her way to please the other one. Usually films show sibling rivalry or how they so different from each. This film showed a very touching relationship that makes an only child like myself, very envious. The things Ali did to please his sister was incredible. Begging to be included in the race and crying over his first place win was incredibl y unpretentious of him as he was doing all of that for his sister. This film showed a real touching relationship between the two siblings, which is probably the best thing about the film.

I was suprised at how much I enjoyed this film. After it was over, I just thought about for awhile and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. It was a very well made film. The acting between the brother and sister was really great. The whole movie felt real and unscripted. The locations also proved to be essential to film as it gave the film real character. The story was incredible and I would probably buy this film if I saw it at a store for a good price. The footrace at the end of the film was really compelling. I got really into it and was rooting for Ali to get third place. This film is great for all ages and I’m surprised it is not more well known. The story was very touching and compelling. It is rare to see a film like this that lets it’s story be front and center.