levels of the film

Rating: Null/10 (21 February 2007)

In the 1997 film, Children of Heaven, from director Majid Majidi, the audience is presented with a modern view of Iranian issues. The film portrays an allegorical story in which the current levels of Iranian social order are symbolized through children. The director also, inadvertently, discusses the role of Islam in the lives of Iranians. All of these issues are important to note because they assist the audience in fully understanding the film. I will provide the reader with a brief plot summary, followed by examples of significant symbolism, and finally discuss the director's motivations for portions of the film.
This interestingly creative commentary on the Iranian way of life begins by offering the audience with their first bit of symbolism in the opening scenes. The audience is shown a wide lends shot of a shoe cobbler fixing a decrepit, old shoe that looks as if it belongs to a young girl (which we are later shown is the case). It is apparent that the shoe carries great significance because it is the film's longest scene and is the object that keeps the plot in constant momentum. Once the shoe is fixed by the man it is given back to Ali, the film's main character who portrays the youth of Iran, and who also loses the shoe when he put it down at the market. He returns home without the shoe to tell his sister that it was lost but that he will find it. This is where the audience first sees their home and how poor they are, a common reality for a large number of Iranians. The plot of the film centralizes around Ali's determination to retrieve the lost shoes which appear to always be around the corner. This may be another comment from the director in regards to change in the lives of Iranians and how he thinks it is just around the corner.
The audience is presented with characters along Ali's journey that stand for things such as the Iranian government and citizens both impoverished and wealthy. The students of children's school are shown each day in the courtyard in straight rows where they all are directed to repeat after the teacher who is announcing rules through a megaphone. This is an apparent representation of the government's role and of the citizens'. The audience is also submerged with countless examples that represent the will of God or Allah; with the use of water which symbolizes purification, and through the different characters and settings. When we meet the little girl who is wearing Zahra's shoes and then is followed home by Zahra, we see that she is very poor also and her father is blind. But even though their situation is a rough one, one that is very similar to most Iranians, they are still very happy. I think this sums up what the director has in store for the future of Iranians.
In conclusion, I felt that the film was very moving and spoke about numerous issues such as poverty, the relationship between us and God, and the relationship between man and government. I think that the director's use of children to convey his message is very innovative and I feel it was a success. It is not hard to see why after viewing the film, that it was so popular among critics. Lastly, I believe that the director's choice of ending is meant to leave the audience with whatever they imagine as the importance because so many people have so many ideas of what the future has in store for Iran.