A bit too "heavenly" to be true.

Rating: 7/10 (4 November 2005)

The story is of a boy and girl, maybe 10 and 8, who cooperate not to disclose to their parents the loss of a pair of shoes. Supposedly this is to protect the ego of their father who will not have enough money to replace them until the end of the month -- rather than to avoid the beating they can BOTH expect if he finds out. Well, I guess my feelings about children being beaten, and about film-makers who present that atrocity without even a shred of condemnation, very much colored my response to this movie. I notice that IMDb has this listed as "Comedy/Drama," but frankly I didn't find anything funny about it . The protagonists' family is poor in an affluent city, the father works constantly in a futile effort to make ends meet, and the mother shows no discontent at her utter subservience. These lovely bright children attend schools where conformity and obedience are the only traits rewarded, and have only each other to turn to for support and comfort. During the course of the film, every time an opportunity for progress arises, it is soon dashed, and even the State religion is not shown as offering any consolation. Look, I've probably known more than my share of good-hearted children, optimistic in the face of adversity, but even I found this pair hard to believe. Sorry.