Spotlight on Film: Children of Heaven (Iran, 1997)

Children of Heaven is an Iranian Film released in 1997, written and directed by Majid Majidi. The film tells the story of a young boy named Ali and his younger sister Zarah, and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes. The film is actually pretty light and has a simple storyline, but despite that, has still received positive reviews and has even been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1998.

The film starts off with a young Iranian boy named Ali, who goes to the shoemaker to fetch his sister Zarah's shoes after being repaired. Due to certain circumstances and a slight mix-up, he ends up losing his sister's shoes. He goes home and tells his sister, but is afraid to tell his parents because he might be scolded  and didn't want them to worry, especially since their family is having financial trouble. The two devise a scheme wherein they would share Ali's old pair of sneakers--Zahra would wear them to school in the morning then she would rush home right after class at noon to give the shoes to her brother, so that he could wear them to go to school in the afternoon. This system doesn't really work out too well, since this has caused Ali (who is one of the best students in his class) to be late for school three times in a row. One day at school, Zarah sees her missing pair of shoes being worn by a classmate of hers. She (as well as Ali, who she brings along) decides to secretly follow this classmate to her house, but discovers that her father is blind (and is the garbageman who accidentally gets Zarah's shoes at the market) and her family is even less fortunate than Ali and Zarah's. The two decide to let the girl have Zarah's shoes instead. Eventually, Ali learns of a children's footrace, where the third prize consists of a one-week stay at a vacation camp, as well as a pair of sneakers. Ali sees this as an opportunity to make-up for the loss of his sister's shoes and enters the race, hoping to finish third so that he could give the shoes to his sister. The remainder of the film basically shows the audience what happens at the footrace, and gives us a look at its outcome.

The film's story is that simple, really. It does not require deep thought to understand what the film is all about. You'll immediately see that the film highlights the value of putting others' happiness before oneself. Zarah decided to just let her shoes go after seeing her classmate being in an even more difficult situation than she is, and we also see this in Ali's determination to make things up to his sister for losing her shoes. Ali and Zarah are aware that their family is not exactly well-off--but instead of being miserable, they make the most out of what they have in the present to make themselves happy. They may not have a lot of material possessions but it does not really bother them, as long as they have their family, and as long as they do their best to keep each other happy.