Children of Heaven

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 CHILDREN OF HEAVEN [1997]

Starring: Mir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi, Reza Naji

Direction by Majid Majidi

Language: Farsi


I had originally seen this movie in 2011, but I was too young to fully understand the meaning or significance of the movie. However, for some reason, the movie has come back to my mind of late and so I decided to watch it. Let's just say that the Iranians are the kings and queens of heart-wrenching cinema. I plan to explore that statement over the coming weeks. Showcasing the relationship between siblings through a child's eyes was especially powerful. The fact that it didn't win the academy award for international feature film in 1998 just shows that the Oscars aren't everything, I guess. 

The psyche of children really came to light in this movie, and the innocence and fragility of them was so endearing to see. It really put my problems into perspective - the fact that shoes were the focal point of such giant issues for the children really exposed the problem of class in Iran, and it also perhaps demonstrated the purity of children, as despite the multitude of issues the two main children in this picture faced, it was something as small as shoes that caused so much stress. 

The innocence of the children really came through via Majidi's direction: the scenes of them blowing bubbles, passing notes to each other, and running to meet each other to change shoes were all so heartwarming! It was almost as if all the children in the movie were living in their own, separate worlds: a world devoid of immorality. Given the current nature of society, I could never imagine children acting in such a moral and mature way. 

I will say this much though, nobody knows how to shoot a good crying scene like Majid Majidi. Every few scenes, there will just be a scene where one of the children is crying and it is a strange mix between raw emotion and acting that makes it seem like an obvious lie. I don't know what it is, but it might be safe to say that Iranian movie editors at the time were not rivaling their Hollywood counterparts at the time. 

The ending was a little bit strange? You would think that after a movie that focused on children in a state of perpetual stress would end on a happy note, but it ended in a scene where there was absolutely no resolution. Beautifully shot and there was a definite metaphor that definitely emphasised innocence and perhaps the serenity of youth, but I REALLY needed a stereotypical happy ending. One where I didn't have to try and decipher the meaning. 

Overall, the movie was pretty good - I will be watching more Farsi movies in the future. 

7/10

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