Children of Heaven

This is an Iranian film that tells the story of a young boy who is placed in an almost impossible situation, but handles it like someone much older than his tender years. Growing up poor, he accidentally loses his sisters shoes and now must pay the price for that transgression. Since they are a poor family, they can’t just go out and buy the sister a new pair of shoes, so the family must improvise. He will have to share his only pair of sneakers with her. This means that since they each need shoes to go to school, they will have to attend at different times, running a sort of relay race. He attends for part of the day, and then rushes home to give sis his shoes so that she can attend. This movie shows what real poverty can be like and it gives children a chance to see that not everyone is as fortunate as many of us growing up in the United States.

Well, like all kids, the boy finally comes up with a solution that will let both him and his sister attend school again together. He hears about a footrace that is being heavily publicized – a race where the third prize is a brand new pair of sneakers. The boy thinks he might be able to come in third, so he enters. The rest of the story is positively heart-warming and teaches some valuable lessons about family loyalty and the love between a brother and sister.

Children of Heaven is an appropriate name for this movie, because it is absolutely heavenly to watch.