CHILDREN OF HEAVEN (1998)
Directed by Majid Majidi Running Time : 1hr 40mins
Reviewed by Jack Choo
Rating : ***** out of *****
SIMPLICITY AT ITS BEST
I actually watched this little gem at the Singapore Film Festival in 1998. It was just a random pick from the massive list of films that were shown during the festival. Well, it turned out to be the best I saw in the festival and I daresay one of the best ever in my lifetime. CHILDREN OF HEAVEN is showcases maverick yet masterful film-making, dealing very little with dialogue, allowing the visuals to sweep the hearts of audiences all over. This is the way films were initially made to excite the human soul.
How can a simple story of a little boy, Ali who loses here sister Zahra's tattered shoes mean so much to me? Its the simplicity of the entire plot that really stole my soul while watching this film. The tattered pair of shoes which meant so much and caused much dilemma to the two young protagonists seem too trivial to be significant yet hold so much importance in reminding us what we people are really made of. The surmounting dilemmas which the two had to endure were never life-threatening but nonetheless remain a very important situation to them both; well, at least for that period of time. The film climaxes wonderfully with every knot tied and every injury healed, leaving the audience a sense of satisfaction; mentally and spiritually.
After this film, I rushed to catch a few other Iranian films in this year's festival. Though they were all similar in many ways (simplicity, bare minimum film-making) all never did measure up to CHILDREN OF HEAVEN. The director Majid Majidi did a wonderful job in visual storytelling with his tight close-ups and well-placed slow-mos as well as silent film treatment in various sequences, simply classic stuff. The lead children actor/actress were wonderful in their roles, manipulative in their expression but highly believable!
Unlike films that try to achieve heart-warming effect on audiences with heavenly thespians and massive production budget, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN will manipulate our minds but one thing for sure, we won't leave feeling cheated. This film was awarded best film in the Singapore Film Festival and the Montreal Film Festival. It was also one of the nominees for best foreign film.
Be sure to catch this film, you won't be disappointed and I'm pretty sure we won't be seeing a film like this for a long-long time.
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