The Children of Heaven

Rating:
Summary: Children of Heaven
Review: Children of Heaven

Children of Heaven is a passionate movie with gentle characters and a sympathetic plot making it a great family movie. It is geared towards the entertainment of children. However an excellent movie, it may not be as credible in America's genre of great children's movies due to a clash in audience as well as a lack in action needed to amuse the children of modern America.
In this kind hearted movie, director Majid Majidi uses a compassionate approach to tell the story of a boy that loses his sister's shoes and will do next to anything to get them back. In the film a young boy misplaces his sister's shoes while running errands at the market for his mother. A blind tradesman mistakenly picks them up and then carries them off leaving the boy, named Ali, to walk home without his sisters shoes. When he tells his sister, Zahra of the dilemma she quickly becomes uneasy with the notion of going to school with nothing on her feet. Ali proposes a temporary solution to the problem to avoid trouble and keep Zahra from telling their parents. Ali cannot just tell his parents he lost Zahra's because they don't have money to spend on new shoes. Ali's solution is to have Zahra wear his shoes to school in the morning, then run home after to trade shoes so that Ali can wear them to his school in the afternoon.
It seems that any child can identify with the situations presented in "Children of Heaven." Who hasn't teamed up with their siblings to rebel against their parents to avoid trouble? There is a great scene in this movie where Majidi really captures the feeling of love and companionship between siblings. Ali runs a race where the winner gets a two week vacation, second gets a different prize and the third place winner is awarded a new pair of sneakers. Ali runs the race with passion, the whole time motivating himself with his sister's voice, his intentions are not to win the vacation, but to finish third so he can give his sister a new pair of shoes. The outcome of the scene is quite moving.
The downfall of the move is it has subtitles and these subtitles cause a clash in the American audience. It was filmed in Iran and its plot is geared towards an audience of children younger than eight to ten years old. The dialogue isn't overwhelming especially for native speaking Iranians, however the translation to English subtitles may make it too difficult for the American audience of ten years old and younger to follow. This would cause the intended audience of children to loose interest and not really grasp the important concepts in the film that Majidi depicts.
With the audience in America now needing to be older than ten years of age I think the film loses its effectiveness. In America the early teens are action hungry and have fallen in love with special effects. The older than ten audiences can certainly follow the subtitles, but without action this audience will again lose interest. These children have become accustom to movies like Harry Potter and Shrek; movies with realistic monsters and high tech gizmos. There isn't much action in Children of Heaven and what little there is not all that exciting. There is a scene where Ali and his father are riding their bike and on a down hill road they lose their breaks and end up crashing. Action yes, but not what this audience is looking for.
Children of Heaven is a genuine movie that wonderfully depicts family values and the importance of companionship between siblings. Unfortunately, despite having that purity, I don't think American children will appreciate it as much due to the lack in action and clash in audience the subtitles present. Unluckily "Children of Heaven" is a great movie with a great plot, but it just doesn't fit in the American genre of great children's movies.




Rating:
Summary: Children of Heaven
Review: Joel Hanson
Review
Children of Heaven
Children of Heaven portrays the importance of relationships and teaches children the sentimental value of childhood bonds. This movie is a pure-hearted story about a simple loving family that lives in the slums of Iran. Even though the movie is a production of Iran, the effectiveness of the story is genuine and will reach out to many children. The movie has subtitles, but aren't too complex that a 10 year old wouldn't be able to follow. So children shouldn't be drawn away. This film doesn't compare with American children movies. Dramatic special effects and silly humor doesn't take over. The sincere and emotional bonds between characters are universal which relates to the audience.
The movie opens in the street of Iran where Ali, the main character, is running some errands for his parents. He is a nine year boy and part of a family that suffers from severe financial problems. He has brought his sisters shoes to a cobbler to get them repaired. When he arrives at a local corner market to get some vegetables, he sets his sisters shoes down outside. A blind rag picker was scouring the streets and picked up his sister shoes. Ali returns home disappointed. He feels awful having to reveal the horrible news to his sister. Telling his father would result in punishment and begs his sister not to tell. The punishment isn't what concerns them though. They don't want to put the burden on there parents to buy a new pair which they can't afford. "What will I where to school?" his sister Zahra says. Since Ali went to school in the afternoon and Zahra went in the morning they would have to share them and trade off after Zahra was done with class. This resulted in many problems between the siblings because Ali is constantly late for school everyday.
The brother-sister relationship is nearly perfectly portrayed in this movie. Ali and Zahra often find themselves getting into arguments when they meet each other to exchange their dirty sneakers everyday. There is a wonderful scene when director and writer, Majid Majidi, teaches the audience the importance of love and sharing in a child's life. Zahra mentions to Ali that his shoes are extremely dirty and if she is going to wear them they need to clean them. The happiness and enjoyment on their faces while they play in the family's watering pool is transparent. Soap bubbles fill the sky as Zahra and Ali amuse themselves or something as irrelevant as washing a pair of shoes. The scene is so dramatic because in the previous scene Ali and Zahra had been in a quarrel. The lesson of forgiveness makes this scene dramatic. This relates to all children and teaches the importance of childhood friendships.
This movie has purpose and is candid, but there are some set backs that may cause disapproval. Eye-catching backdrops and excellent cinematography are not this films biggest attributes. The movie is an Iranian production with a very low budget, so what can you expect? It relies on youthfulness and accuracy representing the story. Also, as an American viewer, you receive an educated glace of Iran through a typical poor family. There are many positives in this movie that out weigh the negatives.
Children of Heaven is a great children's movie that can take you away from the typical American film. The sentimental value of your childhood is universal, even if it is in Iran and the dialogue has to be read in little words on the bottom of the screen. The message is genuine and will be understood. Children have special talents that can't be explained, which is why this movie prevails.