Children of Heaven (1997)

After a boy loses his sister's pair of shoes, he goes on a series of adventures in order to find them. When he can't, he tries a new way to "win" a new pair.

Director:

Majid Majidi

Writer:

Majid Majidi

Stars:

Mohammad Amir Naji, Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi

Top Rated Movies #129 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 4 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

Zahra's shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zahra 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:

race | late for school | family relationships | neorealism | shoe | 

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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:

Children of Heaven

Filming Locations:

Tehran, Iran

Box Office

Budget:

$180,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,100, 24 January 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$925,402, 23 May 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kanun parvaresh fekri

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Majid Majidi's 3rd feature film.

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Goofs

When Ali and Zahra are meeting to swap shoes in the rain, we follow Zahra running through the soaking streets. When it cuts to the alley where the swap takes place, the ground is completely dry. After they split, we follow them running through a street which is watered down.

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Quotes

Ali: Zahra, I have good news.
Zahra: What news?
Ali: I am selected for the race.
Zahra: What race?
Ali: Long-Distance Running. The third-best runner gets a pair of new sneakers.
Zahra: Why the third?
Ali: The First and Second prizes are something else. If I come in third, I'll give you the sneakers.
Zahra: But those shoes are for boys.
Ali: I'll exchange them. I'll get a pair of girl's shoes for you.
Zahra: What if you don't come in third?
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)

User Reviews

Very Talented Filmmaking!

Children of Heaven, which is Iran's selection for best foreign film at the Academy Awards, is a very good movie mainly because anyone in this world can relate to the topic of family and showing love to each other no matter the living circumstances. As an Iranian film, it is definitely played safe but a film with such an universal theme and elegantly told as here should really not be missed, especially by movie-lovers.

Majid Majidi's film is about a young boy named Ali who accidentally lost his sister Zahra's shoes. But their family can ill afford to buy new shoes, Ali decides to share his shoes with his sister until he can get new ones for her and so he can avoid punishment.

The acting is pretty good, and pretty heartfelt. There is no questioning the chemistry between Amir Farrokh Hashemian as Ali and Bahare Seddiqi as Zahra. Reza Naji who plays as their father is also good as the man who is trying to do all he can to provide food for his family.

Overall, Children of Heaven is a simple film but it displays a strong message about the bond of family. There are some talented films from the Middle East and this is one of them. It's a strong film about courage and about doing what's right. My favorite scene is where the father and the son leave their poor slums as they head uptown to the rich neighborhoods. This film shows how American kids are vastly different than kids from these parts of the world.....and not exactly in a good way. This film is a little too simple for me, but there is no denying how powerful this film is. I rate this film 8/10.