Children of Heaven (1997)
"Bacheha-Ye aseman" (original title)

When Ali loses his sister's shoes, the two decide to share his to avoid getting in trouble.

Director:

Majid Majidi

Writer:

Majid Majidi

Stars:

Mohammad Amir Naji, Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mohammad Amir Naji	...	Ali's Father (as Amir Naji)
Amir Farrokh Hashemian	...	Ali (as Mir Farrokh Hashemian)
Bahare Seddiqi	...	Zahra
Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi	...	Roya
Fereshte Sarabandi	...	Ali's Mother
Kamal Mirkarimi	...	Assistant (as Kamal Mir Karimi)
Behzad Rafi	...	Trainer (as Behzad Rafiee)
Dariush Mokhtari	...	Ali's Teacher
Mohammad-Hasan Hosseinian	...	Roya's Father
Masume Dair	...	Roya's Mother
Kambiz Peykarnegar	...	Race Organizer
Hasan Roohparvari	...	Race Photographer
Abbas-Ali Roomandi	...	Shoemaker
Jafar Seyfollahi	...	Green Grocer
Qolamreza Maleki	...	Salt Seller

Storyline

Zohre's shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zohre until they come up with an idea: they will share one pair of shoes, Ali's. School awaits. Will the plan succeed?

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Plot Keywords:

shoe | school | race | children | class | 

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Taglines:

A Little Secret...Their Biggest Adventure!

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Iran

Language:

Persian

Release Date:

22 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Children of Heaven

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Box Office

Budget:

$180,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$20,100 (USA) (22 January 1999)

Gross:

$925,402 (USA) (21 May 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the English DVD version of the film, the epilogue is not translated. The epilogue explains that Ali eventually achieves the larger-scale success of having a racing career.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Message in a Bottle/My Favorite Martian/Children of Heaven/Blast from the Past/God Said, 'Ha!' (1999)

User Reviews

Brilliant in its simplicity!

I find it most difficult and awkward to make comment on films that I personally do not like. That is why I could talk for days about this wonderful Oscar Submission!

Children Of Heaven is one of those rare films that not only I want to talk about, but everyone else who has seen it seems to be raving about. This tender and triumphant little jewel of a film had every head turning at the recent 1999 Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival, January 7th-18th. After it's first showing at the festival, people were indeed talking!

"Did you see that film from Iran?" "No, any good?" "Just wait, go see it, we'll talk later!"

The Children Of Heaven follows the relationship between an impoverished brother and sister, Ali and Zahra, who are thrust into a difficult circumstance all revolving around a pair of sneakers. How they choose to solve their problem themselves, without telling their parents, is what makes the story so heart-warming and unique. What follows is a tender, moving tale of compassion, determination, and deep family love.

Bravo writer/director Majid Majidi!