+commentary

Children of Heaven

Directed & Written by Majid Majidi

Producer: Amir Esfandiari Mohammad

Cinematographer: Parviz Malekzaade

Released: 1997

Budget: $180,000

Box Office: $933,933

World Wide Total: $1,628,579

(Spoilers)

Children of Heaven is easily the most perfect film I have ever seen. This is what a film ought to be. I truly feel Children of Heaven meets the goals I believe movies should have. A film ought to move your heart to the point that it leaves you with utter and true resolve. A film ought to soften you, purify you. And that is exactly what Children of Heaven does to its audience. Ali, a 9 year old boy, carries the weight of poverty on his shoulders alongside his family. He is seen doing a number of things that a typical 9 year old would never be expected to do. He runs errands for his family, such as buying groceries and taking his little sister Zahra’s shoes to the repair shop. They don’t have enough to buy another pair of shoes, so this is what they do. They can barely afford food, let alone new shoes. Even the grocer has them running a tab. 

The story begins when Ali puts the shoes down just for a moment to collect some potatoes into a bag for his mother. At this moment, a man who makes his living as a junk collector sees these shoes thinking they are abandoned, and thus proceeds to take them. The film revolves around this ordeal which has burdened Ali greatly. Ali is ashamed. When he cries throughout the film, every time, he has the look of pure despair- but still, he never complains.

He is sad, but he is determined to help his family. Every act, Ali is striving, pushing through the difficulties of poverty so as to be a source of comfort for his sister, his hard-working, yet poor father, and his ill, bed-ridden mother. Multiple times throughout the film Ali, the sister, the father, will be seen looking at shoes. Such a small thing it may seem, but not for this family. Many of us have racks of shoes. Never thinking much of it. This little girl, who is now sharing one pair of shoes with her brother, looks around at the other girls’ shoes at school. She peeks at the window of a shoe shop. She hides her small feet in Ali’s large pair of sneakers, she is ashamed of her situation, but Ali never ceases in his attempt to solve the issue. The film is a series of heartbreaking challenges that comes with the siblings sharing one pair of shoes, and the brave and heart-wrenching ways Ali tries to get his sister a new pair. 

A particular moment of the film stays with me. Zahra sees her missing pair of shoes on a girl in school. She stares at her, but that little girl is oblivious to Zahra. Zahra follows her home discreetly. The next day Zahra brings her big brother to the home of this little girl and together they watch her walk home in Zahra’s shoes. Ali and Zahra see that this family is also poor. The girl’s father hugs her and holds her hand. As they start walking, Ali and Zahra see that this father is evidently blind and yet works to earn a living for his family. Ali and Zahra watch this unfold in front of them. Never once, do they say anything to this family, or anyone, about the shoes. The mercy and compassion of these children. These are the children of heaven. 

I find it beautiful that every time Ali’s attempts to solve the problem fails, or Zahra felt saddened by the difficulty of sharing a single pair of shoes with her brother, instead of complaining, the two quietly shared their pain in silence. That is not to say they did not have every right to complain, but the fact that they did not speak negatively about their lives, especially as children facing hardship, shows why these are the Children of Heaven. In Islam, we believe that to complain is to show distrust in God’s plan, to show ingratitude for what we do have. Ali and Zahra did not pretend they were not experiencing hardship, their pain was real, but they remained dignified.

Another point I’d like to make is the love Ali has for his sister. This is certainly a quality of a child of Heaven. Ali is one of the few in his class to achieve a top grade on his exams, and so the teacher gives him a fake, plastic, dazzling, gold pen. To these children that was something valuable, something special. He immediately runs to his sister and gives it to her. Rarely do we see Ali smile, but every time he does it’s because there’s a chance he can make his sister smile too.