Children of Heaven (1997): A Captivating Drama Film

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Children of Heaven (1997) More at IMDbPro » Year: Genre: Director: Cast: e Children of Heaven Online Free , download Childrenofheaven : ... Genre:/ Drama. Family  Adventure, written and directed by majid Ali takes his little sister Zahra's shoes to the shoemaker to be repaired, but loses them on the way home. The siblings decide to keep the predicament a secret from their parents, knowing that there is no money to buy a replacement pair and fearing that they will be punished. They devise a scheme to share Ali's sneakers: Zahra will wear them to school in the morning and hand them off to Ali at midday so he can attend afternoon classes.

This uncomfortable arrangement leads to one adventure after another as they attempt to hide the plan from their parents and teachers, attend to their schoolwork and errands, and acquire a new pair of shoes for Zahra. At her school, Zahra sees the shoes on a schoolmate's feet, and follows her home, but the two soon become friends.

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Ali enters a high-profile children's footrace in the hope of receiving the third prize of a new pair of sneakers. He accidentally places first and wins another prize instead. The film ends with Zahra finding out that she will not get a new pair of shoes, but here is a quick shot of their father's bicycle at the end of the movie that shows what appears to be the red shoes Zahra had been focusing on earlier and another pair of white sneakers, presumably for Ali, whose old sneakers were torn from so much use.

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The film ends with the final shot showing Ali dipping his blistered feet in a pool. Writing credits(in alphabetical order) Ali (Amir Farrokh Hashemian) fetches his little sister Zahra's (Bahare Seddiqi) pink shoes after the shoemaker has repaired them. Ali puts down the shoes to get some potatoes at the grocer's. While he is preoccupied, a garbageman accidentally picks up the shoes, hidden in a bag, and takes them away. Frantic to find them, the young boy knocks over crates of vegetables and is chased away by the grocer. Ali's family is having financial trouble, so he fears to tell his parents.

The landlord argues with Ali's mother (Fereshte Sarabandi) because she is five months behind on the rent, and the grocer has not been paid in a while either. Ali tells Zahra about the shoes and begs her not to tell their mother; she agrees. That night, Ali's father (Reza Naji) scolds him for not helping his ill mother when she asked. While the siblings were doing their homework, they passed notes to each other discussing what to do. They devise a scheme to share Ali's Converse sneakers: Zahra will wear them to school in the morning and return them to Ali at midday so he can attend afternoon classes.

This uncomfortable arrangement leads to Ali being late three times in a row, no matter how hard he runs; the first time the principal ignores him, the second time he gives him a warning, the third time he tells Ali to leave and return with his father. Ali's teacher (Dariush Mokhtari) persuades the principal to give the boy one more chance and let him back into class. Ali does well on a test and the teacher awards him a gold-colored pen; he gives it to Zahra to partially make up for losing her shoes. One day, Zahra notices her missing pink shoes on another student, Roya's (Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi), feet.

After class, Zahra secretly follows Roya home. She later brings Ali with her for a confrontation, but from hiding, they discover that Roya's father (Mohammed-Hasan Hosseinian), the garbageman, is blind, so they decide to leave. When Roya does well in her studies, her father buys her new purple shoes and throws away Zahra's. Zahra is dismayed when she finds out from her new friend. Ali's father, anxious to earn more money, borrows some gardening equipment and heads off with Ali to the rich suburbs of Tehran to find some gardening work. They try many places without success, though Ali proves to be a great help to his tongue-tied father.

Finally, they come upon a mansion in which a six-year-old boy named Alireza (Mohammed-Hossein Shahidi) lives under the care of his grandfather (Kazem Asqarpoor). While Ali plays with Alireza, his father works. When he is finished, Ali's father is surprised and elated by how generous the grandfather is. On the way home, their bicycle's brakes fail and the father is slightly injured in the resulting crash. Finally, Ali learns of a high-profile children's footrace involving many schools; the third prize is one week at a vacation camp and a pair of sneakers.

To his bitter disappointment, in a hard-fought dash to the finish, he accidentally places first instead. However, there is a quick shot of the children's father's bicycle, showing two new pairs of shoes among his purchases. In the final shot, Ali is shown dipping his blistered feet in a pool. Some versions include an epilogue revealing that Ali eventually achieves success in a racing career. ------------------------------------------------- [edit]Cast * Amir Farrokh Hashemian as Ali * Bahare Seddiqi as Zahra * Amir Naji as Father * Fereshte Sarabandi as Mother Dariush Mokhtari as Ali's teacher * Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi as Roya * Mohammed-Hasan Hosseinian as Roya's father * Mohammed-Hossein Shahidi as Alireza * Kazem Asqarpoor as Grandfather * Christopher Maleki as Salt seller * * * In this film, you will not find any special effects, marketing tactics, or expensive sets. The movie is told in a very simple real fashion using camera work, acting, and real life streets and scenery, giving the film a realistic documentary feel. * it was my first venture into Iranian cinema, so I was a little unsure what to expect.

After five minutes, it was fairly evident that this film was something a bit special. The story is simple. While at market shopping, Ali loses his sisters school shoes. After desperately trying in vain to find them, he decides that he and his sister will share his sneakers, meeting her after to school each day to recover them from her, in order to get to school himself. That is pretty much a synopsis of the entire movie. It doesn't end there however... This film is played with such beauty and innocence; it is a true pleasure to watch.

Hashemian plays Ali with such incredible depth and passion, one is completely drawn into his plight. From the start of the film, we see the relationship between brother and sister, played with equal warmth by Bahare Seddiqi, strained as he explains how he lost her shoes. The sorrow on Ali's face, and Zahra's tears at the news, are truly heartbreaking to watch. The expressions on the faces of the children are so genuine, it is clear that spending a cinematic hour and half will be a pleasure, albeit not an easy one. We see Ali and his Father looking for work as gardeners.

From the outset it is clear that Ali's Father is strict, but it is also evident he loves his son dearly, and the simple exchange of smiles as they find their first job is heart-warming, and totally believable. Cycling through the city, it is very striking that there is a clear division between rich and poor. We are watching a boy, afraid to tell his father of the loss of a pair of shoes, riding through streets with billboards advertising cell phones, into rural areas where houses with swimming pools, ornate architecture and luxury are rife.

Simple things bring Ali pleasure, blowing bubbles, swinging on swings with his new found friend, the smiles and laughter of the children is absorbing. Later in the film we see Ali enter a race in order to win a pair of brand new sneakers for his sister. To win them, he must come third. Again we see the division of wealth, as Ali races through the streets, the thoughts and images of his sister swirling in his head, and on screen, while at the same time, parents of other children film the race on camcorders, all the time Ali running, fighting for the shoes he needs so desperately.

The film is not dialogue intensive, and one could easily watch the film, and understand the story, even without the aid of subtitles. This film was nominated for an Academy Award, and it not difficult to see why. Ignoring for a moment the subtitles and language barriers, since they are not overly crucial to the film, this is a story of true innocence, and tugs hard at the heartstrings, sometimes to breaking point. The portrayal of the children is gentle, warm and absolutely believable, and one cannot help but be drawn into this tale, as it gently unwinds.

It is sometimes tough to watch the emotions played out, but ultimately, worth every second. It is not just a film, it is an experience, and one that is completely passionate, and totally unforgettable. Humanity at it's best, as seen through the eyes of a child. Because Children of Heaven examines the family dynamics of an impoverished Iranian family, the interaction of the characters required believability and a certain amount of chemistry between the actors. This was accomplished by casting the instantly likeable Mir Farrokh Hashemian as Ali and Bahare Seddiqi as Zahra.

The two children carry the majority of the film with excellent performances. The tenderness that the children exhibited seemed legit. Amir Naji had a more challenging role as a stern father who was given an opportunity to win the audience over. Strong writing contributed to Amir’s success, providing him the image of a stern but loving father. Amir takes that opportunity and executes it flawlessly. These three actors make Children of Heaven work. Their combined charm, acting and chemistry brought the characters to life and win the audience over Setting Special effects ore There are no explosions, no guns, no fight scenes, no car chases, and no eye-popping special effects. None of these things has a place in writer/director Majid Majidi's story about how a poor Iranian family copes with the financial difficulties of their day-to-day existence, and, despite the apparent obstacles, remains a happy and loving group. Sound boring? Perhaps on paper, but, on the screen, Editing COH is  a little masterpiece of camerawork and editing that leaves the audience breathless with anticipation. With beautiful, crystal clarity, “Children of Heaven” reminds us that umour The movie contains streaks of humour that is bittersweet. It also captures the little gestures and gags of children very accurately. Co H makes for an enjoyable 90 minutes because the characters are vivid and sympathetic, and because Majidi's keen view of the human condition is universal, not parochial. Direction The film is directed perfectly, and the credit for this goes to Majid Majidi, whose films have won acclaim worldwide. There are times when the film feels like a documentary in the direction, and that works in its favour.

Throughout the movie, the expressions and emotions displayed by the children speak far louder than any dialogue ever could. Through Majidi's artful directorship we get an intimate understanding of two children's (Ali ; Zahra) thoughts, feelings, and intentions from start to end. Message The film has undoubtedly achieved its purpose, that is to make people conscious of a reality, and at the same time show the attractiveness of those living in that reality. It gives us the message that winning is sometimes losing, and sometimes losing can be the most exhilarating feeling in the world.

Updated: Apr 29, 2023
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Children of Heaven (1997): A Captivating Drama Film. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/ljjkh-new-essay

Children of Heaven (1997): A Captivating Drama Film essay
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