Feels like heaven

I first heard of this film from the weekly movie review show that is being aired on cnn ibn. A few months ago, I actually happened to see the movie. There are very few movies, which are unpretentious but poignant, and children of heaven certainly is one such movie.

The movie focuses on the lives of a boy and his sister born in a family, which struggles to make ends meet. The performances are so good that you can instantly relate to the characters. The movie is driven by an incident in which the girl loses her shoes. The two of them think it would be demanding to ask their father to buy them a new pair of shoes and so the boy comes up with an arrangement by which he shares his shoes with his sister though its big for her. Everyday his sister studying in a lower class rushes after school hours to give the shoes to her brother. How they carry on doing this and an engaging climax forms the rest of the movie.

Factors, which make children of heaven such a heart warming and engaging drama, is the casting and performances. Be it the scene where the two of them follow a girl who has a similar shoe that the girl lost or be it the scene in which the boy gets caught for showing up late to school, the emotional content is so very beautifully shot that you are sure to develop a lump in the throat. The movie is full of such endeavors. The boy goes along with his father in his cycle showing the economical disparities in such a subtle way in a scene. There is also some unintended humor I presume in certain scenes which is so typical of Iranian films. The movie ends in a scene, which shows the emotional bonding between the children and their parents so convincingly that you wonder if a movie could be done so poignantly.

Emotionally draining and such an honest movie this. A simple but inspiring tale leaves you wondering why such movies are not made often. Certainly, children are from heaven.