The Color of Paradise
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Movie Reviews of The Color of Paradise
Movie Review: Eyes wide shut.
Summary: 5 Stars
Shakespearean tragedy, Iranian-style. Majid Majidi's *The Color of Paradise* is a masterpiece, better than his splendid *Children of Heaven* -- though I don't think this film will win over as many adherents as the latter. The subject-matter here is pretty dark and difficult to take, involving the tribulations of a blind boy at the mercy of a struggling father who no longer has the will to provide for him. The movie's theme is refreshingly simple, perhaps even simplistic, having to do with blindness not being merely the absence of functioning eyes, but rather as a state of mind. Majidi provides an easy contrast, showing many scenes of the boy Muhammad listening enraptured to the sounds of nature around him while his dad putters about in sullen, worried self-absorption. Who's really "blind"? The story and its themes feel timeless, as old as humanity itself. The primeval and absolutely stunning location -- a rural and forgotten paradise in the north of the country near the Caspian Sea -- contributes a great deal to this feeling. (The movie is aptly titled.) So, yes -- the story is simple, but in the hands of a master. Majidi has the requisite patience to immerse us in Muhammad's aural and tactile world: the viewer can almost feel the coarse stalks of wheat when the boy runs his hand over them in a field, can smell the perfume when his grandmother pours boiling water on tubs of collected flower petals to make dyes, can believe that the multiplicity of bird chatter is right outside his own house, can see the falling chicken feathers drift down like snow in his own living room. Majidi is good with human nature, too: judicious close-ups of the natural-looking (i.e., real-looking) actors tell their own small stories, mitigating the need for excessive chat or exposition. Or explanation. Majidi's debut, *Children of Heaven", was a film about kids that kids could (and should) watch . . . but *The Color of Paradise*, while about a kid, veers into tragedy as old as Sophocles by movie's end, and as such is not entirely recommendable to children. But don't let that put YOU off: true artists, like Sophocles and Majidi, have the power to give significance and form to human agony. And, as the very last shot of *The Color of Paradise* amply illustrates, the results can be heartbreakingly beautiful, indeed.Movie Review: Evil, rip your heart out and crush it into tiny smithereens
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't review this movie any better than has already been done, but let me just tell you this: don't do what I did. I watched it in the 3rd trimester of my first pregnancy. I was balling uncontrollably for hours after.
Not only does it wrench your heart that the poor little boy is blind, but the beautiful, unconditional love that his sisters and grandmother have for him, the simple joys he finds in things that people with sight take for granted...it all sets you up for agony when he has to wait for his reluctant father to take him home from a school that keeps him away from all of these things he loves. (wow, that's a run on sentence).
The father sees him as an obstacle to prevent his second marriage, but is obviously riddled with guilt trying to get rid of him. I found these scenes especially poignant. With an adopted brother of my own, it made me think of all the poor, unwanted children in the world, many of whom are given up because of physical or mental deficiencies.
Then, with my own impending child, I thought of how I would react to a child with problems. Would I want to be rid of them so my life could be "normal"? It's easy to see how eliminating such complications could be so tempting (ie. abortion, dumping your kid at the carpenter's house). When you watch Mohammed, and his beautiful mind and spirit overcome you, you hate yourself for ever giving rise to the possibility that you wouldn't want any child you were blessed with. I hate myself now just for admitting this.
So just when you think things can't get any worse, they of course do. And then you beat yourself up all over again. And of course, if you're pregnant, or have kids, or want kids, or are in any way a compassionate individual, you will wallow in despair. And despite this despair, you will love the movie for showing you what a shallow, self-centered person you are and how you should savor the beauty of the simple things that do, in fact, make our lives paradise.
Well if that doesn't entice you to watch the movie, I don't know what will.
Movie Review: This is Cinema!
Summary: 5 Stars
I can not recommend this film enough!! It is simply a beautiful touching story, told with such dedication and love..this film is what cinema is all about.The fact that this film comes from Iran, should be an example of how universal the art of cinema is.
Majidi is certainly one of the best directors from any nationality. After making a masterpiece in Children Of Heaven which will be released on DVD in September, he scores yet again for the enjoyment of us all with Color of Paradise, a story of Mohamed, a blind boy, and his relationship with his father, the excellent Hussain Mahjoub, with his sisters, his grandmother,and with nature.
It is a tragic story filmed without falling in the trap of sentimentality.
It is a universal story, and the little Mohamed can be any blind boy in any country in the world..this is why Majidi's films while Iranian in their setting, they touch every viewer from any culture. He also has the sensitivities to his surroundings and subject matter of great directors, such as Truffaut and De Sica.
Majidi and most Iranian directors have used amateur children in the lead role to excellent effect, and the world we see through the eyes of these children, is filmed with such care and understanding.
Iranian cinema has gained international recognition, especially in Europe, taking several awards in Cannes and Venice, and it is such a great achievement for the art of cinema itself, proving yet again that it is one form that can bring cultures together in a sophisticated platform.
The scenery in Color of Paradise is breathtaking, and will surprise many as i was, by how beautiful a country Iran is.
The cinematography as well is top class, clearly evident in the last scene, very well filmed and edited.
If you love cinema then you should add Color of Paradise to your collection, for it is a feast to your senses.
Movie Review: WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THE BLIND & THE COLOR OF PARADISE
Summary: 5 Stars
From the producer of the ACADEMY AWARD nominee, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN, Majid Majidi, comes this sequel, THE COLOR OF PARADISE. Described as 'Stunningly beautiful. A gem." by Stephen Holden of the New York Times. Winner of the BEST PICTURE at the 1999 Montreal Film Festival and other awards internationally, this is a story about an 8 year old blind boy and his relationship with his widowed father. It grabs your heart immediately as the boarding school for blind children in Tehran, where Mohammad attends, is ending for summer vacation. Mohammad is the only child left after all the other parents have picked up their children. He is sitting alone on a bench and hears a baby bird fall out of its nest and chirping on the ground. He also hears a cat nearby. He manages to shoo the cat away and find the baby bird and climb the tree and return it to its nest. Welcome to the world of the blind. His father finally arrives and wants to leave him there. We meet a poor, hard working man from a rural village who has lost his wife and is trying to raise his other two daughters and make a living as best he can. He also wants to remarry and considers Mohammad to be an obstacle to finding a wife. The rest is a wonderful human interest story. The scenery is outstanding. Iran is really a beautiful country in many areas. Many emotions come to the surface during the film. It is a film you can easily watch with children who are mature enough to understand the themes. It is worth watching just to better understand the handicap of being a blind child. If you've seen CHILDREN OF HEAVEN, you know what's in store. Rated PG for mature themes, there is no offensive language or material of any kind. YOU WILL BE DOING YOURSELF A FAVOR BY PUTTING THIS AT THE TOP OF YOUR LIST.Movie Review: What a movies were meant to be.
Summary: 5 Stars
Tired of exploding cars, gratuitous violence, and mindless sex in your movie viewing? Then you're in for a real treat. "The Color of Paradise" draws deeply from the soul of Persia, and presents to us a story that is at once profoundly simple and profoundly moving. God, Nature, Humanity intersect in a village high in the mountains of Iran, and these are shown to us by a blind eight year old boy. This child, Mohammed, revels in all that is life in this poor, isolated, rugged community.While the story takes place in a Moslem setting, I cannot help but see reflections of the teachings of other great religions, Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism. As I watched this little innocent, I thought of the phrase from the Hebrew prophet Isaiah, "out of the mouths of babes and sucklings shall come words of wisdom." From Jesus, "Let the little children come unto me, for of such are the Kingdom of Heaven." And the Buddha, who taught us to stop and look at the wonder of nature all around us.
Mohammed's father sees none of this. Sadly, he is the one who is truly blind. Others look at Mohammed and see a beautiful, intelligent, gifted child, where his father sees only a child who is cursed, and that he himself is cursed thereby. The father's blindness teaches us the perils of what happens when we ignore that which is good,lovely, beautiful. This man is nearly paralyzed by fear, doubt, and self-loathing. His son would love to put out his hand and lead his father out of his misery, but the father is so short-sighted, so blinded that he cannot see the salvation that is within his own home.
This movie is beautifully filmed, superbly acted (no "precious" little kids in this film), and skillfully told.
And don't forget your hankies.