ASIC - The Children of Heaven - Movie 1997

Introduction to Children of Heaven

It's a fantastic 1997 release by the Iranian Film Indusand try is one of the best movies I have ever seen in the history of cinema. It is a family drama film written and directed by Majid Majidi having a plot of a brother and sister and adventures they went through over a lost pair of shoes. 

Let me tell you some feelings that took me to another level of love and emotions. In a nutshell whole movie is captive enough to keep you in front of the screen but there were two scenes that I still cannot forget and maybe they will go into the grave with me. The first and most emotional scene that caused tears in my eyes was when the Brother was participating in the race and the second prize was a new pair of shoes he struggled too much to get that prize but unfortunately for him, he came first in the race and he was being awarded a trophy. People all around him were so happy about the trophy but the trophy was not worthy to him and his eyes were looking for the pair of shoes which he promised to his younger sister. He was weeping but nobody tried to understand the pain he was suffering through. The second and the most emotional scene of the film is when he comes home and his sister is waiting for the new pair of shoes and watching him with the trophy breaks her heart. Oh, My GOD, I am still having that immense feeling of sorrow for both the kids. These two scenes made this film one of my favorites. Please concentrate on these two scenes whenever you watch this film.

This beautiful film received positive reviews and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1998.

Cast of Movie

Ali (Brother) - Amir Farrokh Hashemian
Zahra (Sister) - Bahare Seddiqi 
Father - Reza Naji
Mother - Fereshte Sarabandi 
Grandfather - Kazem Asqarpoor
Ali's teacher - Dariush Mokhtari
Roya - Nafise Jafar Mohammadi
Roya's father - Mohammed Hasan Hosseinian 
Ali Reza - Mohammed Hossein Shahidi

Salt Seller - Christopher Maleki

Brief Plot of the Movie

After a cobbler has mended Zahra's pink shoes, her six-year-old sister Ali, age nine, grabs them. Ali puts the shoes outside amid the produce while he buys potatoes, concealed in a bag. Unaware, a homeless guy takes up the bag, believing it to be trash. Ali is frantic and knocks down the display because she believes the shoes slipped beneath the crates. The grocer then chases Ali away.

Ali is afraid to inform his parents that his family is having financial problems because they live in a low-income area of South Tehran. Because Ali's mother is five months late on her rent and the grocer hasn't been paid in a while, the landlord quarrels with her. Zahra is informed by Ali of the shoes, and he begs her not to tell their mother.