Children of Heaven

Children of Heaven is an Indian film directed by Majid Majidi.  The film takes place in Iran and revolves around a boy and his sister.  The boy (Ali) and his sister (Zahra) have many difficulties after Ali looses his sister's shoes.  They struggle to swap shoes back and forth, and Ali still making it to school on time causes a lot of stress for the two.  Ali needs his shoes for school, and Zahra wants to have pretty shoes.  Only their father works and he makes very little money.  After Ali set down his sister's shoes a homeless man accidentally stole them.  He searches and searches but does not dare tell his father about the dilemma of his sister's missing shoes.  Ali and his sister argue in secret about getting her new shoes, or her old ones back.  They eventually decide to have  Zahra go to school first and then they will swap shoes and Ali will run all the way to his school.  Ali is late for school a few times and is scolded.  He still does well in school which saves him when his teacher gets him out of trouble because he knows how hard he works.  His father tries to work as a landscaper but many upper class houses reject him.  Finally a little boy talk to Ali through an intercom but Ali has to leave with his father.  As they begin to leave, the boy who was speaking to him runs outside with his father.  The father calls them over and the father works in the mans yard, and Ali plays with the little boy.  The boy had all of the material things he needed but all he wanted was a friend.  Ali had people in his life, but had no material things he needed.  After the father finishes he is paid more than he ever has but while riding home their bike breaks and they crash.  Ali continues running to school and finds about a race he knows he can win.  Third place prize is a pair of shoes and he tells his sister he will win those for her and exchange them for her.  He qualifies for the race but after struggling to get to the finish the race is so close, he can't tell if he got third place or not.  After finding out he cries because all he wanted were shoes.  When Ali returns home disappointed he sees his sister.  Before he can tell her what happen, her mother calls her away. The movie ends with Ali dipping his feet in a pool of water to soothe them, and his father riding his bicycle with a pair of shoes and many other things for the family.

          A theme in this movie is struggle.  Ali struggles to get his sister shoes.  Zahra struggles to feel comfortable and confident in her brothers shoes.  Ali's father and struggles to provide for his family and in turn, the entire family struggle in poverty.
          I liked this movie very much because the entire movie revolved around a pair of shoes.  I think the movie really showed how solvable problems can really overwhelm children.  Ali really reminded me of when I was a kid and felt so worried about problems I knew my father would be upset about and the competitively desperate feeling of trying to win a competition.  I really liked how this movie reminded me to be thankful for what I have.