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

Director:

Majid Majidi

Writer:

Majid Majidi

Release Date:

22 January 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Tagline:

A Little Secret...Their Biggest Adventure!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Shoe | School | Race | Children | Class

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 13 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

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
Zahra Mirzai	...	Zahra's Teacher
Sara Zamani	...	Trainer
Mohammad Haj-Hosseini	...	Mosque Servant
Kazem Asqarpoor	...	Grand Father
Mohammad-Hossein Shahidi	...	Alireza
Seyd-Ali Hosseini	...	Ali's Friend
Haj-Ali Salimi	...	Old Man
Ahmad Mokhber	...	Mash Ramezan
Golnaz Tariqat	...	Ms. Koubab
Mash-Ebrahim Safari	...	Ali's Father's Friend
Davud Shams	...	Shoe Seller
Azade Qale Noi	...	Video Cameraman
Faramarz Safarizadeh	...	Video Cameraman
Hossein Ahamdloo	...	Photographer
Siamak Haj-Amini	...	Photographer
Soheil Haj-Amini	...	Photographer
Rahman Kharazchi	...	Referee
Jamshid Yusefi	...	Referee
Javad Kazemi	...	Referee
Mohammad Oskooi	...	Award Presenter
Reza Dehghan	...	Award Presenter
Ali Chaharian	...	Award Presenter
Amir-Ali Kazemi	...	First Runner
Navid Feyzabadi	...	Second Runner / Third Runner
Pasha Shoja Zadeh	...	Fourth Runner
Moshen Qadiri Nejad	...	Runner
Amir Hossein Tavakkoli	...	Runner
Hadi Maleki	...	Runner
Mohammad Hossein Mortavazi	...	Runner
Seyed Karym Alikhani	...	Runner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christopher Maleki	...	Salt Seller

Directed by
Majid Majidi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Majid Majidi

Produced by
Amir Esfandiari	....	producer
Mohammad Esfandiari	....	producer

Original Music by
Kayvan Jahanshahi

Cinematography by
Parviz Malekzaade

Film Editing by
Hassan Hassandoost

Production Management
Seyyed Saeed Seyedzadeh	....	production manager

Sound Department
Mohammad Reza Delpak	....	sound designer
Yadollah Najafi	....	sound recordist

Production Companies

• The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults

Distributors

• Ace Pictures (1999) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (1999) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2002) (Canada) (DVD)
• Arthaus Filmverleih
• Buena Vista Television (????) (USA) (TV)
• EDKO Film (Hong Kong)
• Gativideo (1999) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Irfan Film (2009) (Turkey) (TV)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Mars Distribution (France)
• Miramax Films (1999) (USA) (subtitled)
• New Films International
• Paris Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• RCV Film Distribution (Belgium)
• RCV Film Distribution (Luxembourg)
• RCV Film Distribution (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

"Bacheha-Ye aseman" - Iran (original title)
"The Children of Heaven" - USA (review title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild language

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Iran

Language:

Persian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | France:U | Hong Kong:I | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | USA:PG | Peru:PT | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | UK:12 (TV rating) | Germany:o.Al.

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Company:

The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)

a work of art

The wonderful Iranian film, "Children of Heaven," and its companion piece, "The White Balloon", remind one of those great Czechoslovakian films of the 1960's ("The Shop on Main Street" and "Loves of a Blonde" etc.) in that they achieve their artistry by providing keenly observed glimpses into the minutiae of everyday life. They also help to humanize a culture often regarded as alien and even incomprehensible to western eyes. Above all, this magnificent film reminds us that real drama comes not in the form of overplotted special effects laden extravaganzas, but from films that examine the universal simplicities of life as we all know it. When it is distilled through the eyes of a poet - this is when art is achieved.

"Children of Heaven" has its roots planted firmly in the neorealist tradition. Its simple story echoes not merely the earlier "The White Balloon" but the original Italian classic, "The Bicycle Thief." In this film, young Ali accidentally loses his sister's recently mended shoes; out of this tale of utmost simplicity, the filmmakers take us on a fascinating tour of live in a typical Iranian village and family. As Ali and his sister scheme to overcome this obstacle, the film touches on any number of universal themes: the close ties of siblings united in their common bond of avoiding often irrational parental anger; well meaning, loving parents overwhelmed with the trials of everyday life who are often compelled to act out in ways that seem cruel to the children who adore them; the petty viciousness with which children often strike out at each other, yet, at the same time, the often unexpectant kindness and empathy with which they also treat one another. The film manages to keep the audience constantly engrossed in its action without once resorting to even a smidgen of incredibility or melodrama. Beautifully directed, with a superb soundtrack filled with heightened naturalistic noises, it is a film of many-splendored wonders, its lyricism caught in a glimpse of soap bubbles floating around a backyard produced by two children abandoned to their moment of incomprehensible youthful joy, its high drama found in a shoe racing down a city sewer with a desperate young girl in tow.

The actors, children and adults alike, underplay their roles in so naturalistic a fashion that one does not even feel they are performing at all; the film, through them, becomes a magical fabric of life that draws the audience deep into its world.

"Children of Heaven" brilliantly demonstrates that works of art often arise from the observation of the most seemingly mundane concerns of daily life and reminds us that this provides far more drama than all the exploding spaceships, car chases and hyperkinetic melodrama that flood the screen in the guise of entertainment. It certainly shows just how phony, empty and bereft of life most American films are. Don't miss "Children of Heaven!" It is a richly rewarding experience.