Children Of Heaven
by Majid Majidi
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bahare Sediqi, Mir Farrokh Hashemian, Mohammad Amir NajiDirector: Majid Majidi
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Cinematographer: Parviz Malekzaade
Writer: Majid Majidi
Editor: Hassan Hassandoost
Producer: Institute For The Intellectual Development Of Children And Young Adults
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); Farsi (Original Language); French (Original Language); English (Original Language)
Format: NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 1 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2012-01-06
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: LIONSGATE
Movie Reviews of Children Of Heaven
Movie Review: Buy this Film!, by Michelle Durr
Summary: 5 Stars
In Majid Majidi's 1999 film Children of Heaven the Iranian culture is illustrated through family relationships, social ties and interactions between characters, and in the characteristics the people in the film possess. As a resident of Iran, Majidi grants viewers the opportunity to experience a significant portion of respect and honor in the culture and religious tradition presented in the film that wouldn't necessarily be available to the audience if this international film was made by an outsider or tourist. Beyond that, Majidi elicits so much pure, tender emotion from the children in the film that it breaks my heart to watch them struggle. It is because Majidi brings a priceless taste of the Iranian culture to viewers that I would highly recommend this film to anyone.
Family:
This film represents the core of Iranian culture and promotes the family values they hold dear. The little moments that Majidi includes in his film establish such a powerful image of unity and love within the family unit. Because various types of audiences can relate to family situations, it is an important area to include in an international film.
In the film Majidi shows how the father is respected and honored as the head of the household in the Iranian culture. He is responsible for providing money to support the family, doing all the hard labor, and conversing with businessmen and any other man outside the home. While women are valued and respected in the home, their place outside of it is limited in dealing with issues such as handling the late-rent situation their family experiences with the angry landlord.
The fact that Ali (Amir Farrokh Hashemian) and his sister Zahra (Bahare Seddiqi) never tell their father about the shoes that Ali lost emphasizes more that they respect and honor their father and value their possessions than their fear of the punishment they would receive.
These standards and values of respect and honor in the family are encouraged by Majidi in the way he crafted the production design of the film. The little moments the family shares together are cherished when they could have easily been made into moments of bitterness or hate. Majidi's view of his culture brings out the best in the Iranian people, introducing most viewers to their first experience of the Iranian culture; an experience so inspiring that is hard to forget.
Society:
This film is extremely powerful because it shows that respect and honor is what their society values the most and allows each of the characters to set strong role models for viewers.
Respect can first be seen in small doses at the beginning of the film and then continually throughout the film when the phrase "with your permission" is used. It is important because this example shows that the Iranian people are polite and that the structure of society requires very respectful and polite manners when in public. Ali uses the phrase repeatedly to his teachers, principal, and to other adults whenever he speaks to them.
Whether it is from another male adult, woman, or child, respect is always given to male adults. A woman receives respect in the confines of their home in situations that they oversee, but even then only through her husband. With this in mind Majidi shows the different levels of society and how respect plays a key role between people that are of a different status.
The level of respect society places on religion is also extremely important to the Iranian culture. It is well illustrated in the scene where Ali's Dad is breaking up the sugar cane for the church. Zahra brings her father tea but does not bring the sugar. Her father then teaches her that they are not to use what the church has entrusted to them, but to respect it as the church's property.
Individual character:
The film also provides so many opportunities for emotional connections to be made with the characters in the film.
Ali demonstrates strength, love, independence. His is strong because he loves his sister. He takes on the struggle of losing Zahra's shoes without telling his father showing his independence.
Their father shows these same characteristics but in, an obviously, older more mature nature. He doesn't want his wife to take on any hardships because of her back problems, and consequently does her jobs in addition to his own. He loves his wife so much that he doesn't ask for help and is the model for strength for his family.
The love that Ali and Zahra have for each other as brother and sister really resonates with me. I was able to relate with them based on my own family experiences. How Ali would do anything for Zahra.
Conclusion:
It is through this depiction of the Iranian culture that the theme of respect appears and influences every area of the film. While respect could be considered a universal trait, it becomes specific to the society and culture of Iran when we see how it is used to differentiate between the different levels of the Iranian people. The film gives viewers an understanding of a culture so distinct from our own. I cannot deny anyone that priceless personal connection with the Iranian people. Go buy this film!
Summary of Children Of Heaven
Triumph prize winner at many prestigious film festivals, this uplifting, crowd-pleasing story of family and love was also moniated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film! When Ali loses his sister Zahra's school shoes, this young pair dream up a plan to stay out of trouble: they'll share his shoes and keep it a secret from their parents! But if they're going to successfuly cover their tracks, Ali and Zahra must carefully watch their step on what rapidly turns into a funny and heartwarming adventure! A magical motion picture acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, Children Of Heaven is a charming treat you'll love, too!This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
Majid Majidi celebrates the immediacy and essence of childhood in this delightful tale of a brother and sister who share a pair of shoes when the boy (though no fault of his own) loses his sister's only pair. Since their parents are too poor to afford a new pair, they keep it a secret, trading them off every day in a mad rush, jumping gutters and navigating the twisting lanes to their schools and back. Then the boy hatches a plan: the third-place prize in a student footrace is a new pair of shoes, and he's determined to take it. The plot may smack of a Disney film, but the direction couldn't be more different. The family scenes are delicately observed, and Majidi captures the spirit of the children perfectly: proud, emotional, petulant, sweet, and disarmingly sincere. The film has a Western-friendly framework without losing the naturalistic eye and lolling rhythm that gives the best Iranian films their richness. Even as he builds to the climactic footrace (quite unexpectedly turned into a nail-biting contest) the film continues to reveal a wealth of discreet surprises, culminating in a conclusion all the more resonant for its sublime delicacy. His efforts earned the film the honor of becoming the first Iranian feature to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. --Sean Axmaker
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