Children of Heaven

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Children of Heaven

PG

Released Apr 22, 1998

1h 28m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

83%

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30 Reviews

95%

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10,000+ Ratings

When young Ali (Amir Farrokh Hashemian) accidentally loses the only pair of shoes his little sister Zahra (Bahare Seddiqi) owns, the siblings attempt to hide the bad news from their poverty-stricken father (Mohammad Amir Naji) and ill mother (Fereshte Sarabandi). They devise a scheme to share Ali's own pair of worn sneakers until they can find a new pair of shoes for Zahra. This documentary-like film was shot on location in some of Tehran's poorest areas.

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C

Sep 7, 2011

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Globe and Mail

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 19, 2002

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Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 4.5/5

Jan 1, 2000

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Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

I think it's a good way to kind of introduce kids to the idea that movies do not need a huge plot to be incredibly captivating.

Rated: 8/10

May 15, 2019

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CSM Staff

Christian Science Monitor

This modestly produced family drama has all the poignancy and humor associated with today's vibrant Iranian film industry.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 21, 2019

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

...Majidi and his young actors invest it with such basic truth about the inner lives of children that the movie feels as big as the universe.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 16, 2012

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Mehmet G

A good film, one that has a moral value. It has a quite different story. It is not an arthouse film, nor a film depending on Hollywood like cinematographic and editing effects. Perfect for those looking for an alternative.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/20/24

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Micah H

Proof that a masterpiece doesn’t need an epic scale and big explosions. One can be so simple as two children and a missing pair of shoes.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/05/24

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Sheila B

Stunningly beautiful story of sibling love, hope and preserance. Watch this one with your brothers and sisters.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

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Leaburn O

A couple of kids with angelic features make this really heartwarming. A very beautiful tale from Iran very much akin to Wajda. Beautiful stuff, very sweet, loving and tender.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

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Yash B

"Children of Heaven" features a simple enough premise that comes together in the final act. The movie really does capture the innocence of being a child and I think the likability of the two main siblings is why the movie ends up working. A lot of is it a slow-paced film that leads up to an exciting and memorable sequence near the end which does lead to the conclusion of the film. I felt like the movie could have ended with one more scene I had imagined but was pretty much guaranteed to happen. Instead, I felt it ended a bit abruptly and missed an opportunity to hit a feel-good home run. Nonetheless, this is a sweet little movie with a lot of heart and good messages that make the story and characters easy to root for.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/27/23

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Sean A

This movie is so boring,for example most of the scenes are just useless, like for 1 scene their just running threw the backways the whole time. The race was cool I guess but It wasn't that hyped tbh.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/09/23

Full Review

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Majid Majidi

Director

Mohammad Amir Naji

Ali's Father

Amir Farrokh Hashemian

Ali

Bahare Seddiqi

Zahra

Fereshte Sarabandi

Ali's Mother

Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi

Roya

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Synopsis

When young Ali (Amir Farrokh Hashemian) accidentally loses the only pair of shoes his little sister Zahra (Bahare Seddiqi) owns, the siblings attempt to hide the bad news from their poverty-stricken father (Mohammad Amir Naji) and ill mother (Fereshte Sarabandi). They devise a scheme to share Ali's own pair of worn sneakers until they can find a new pair of shoes for Zahra. This documentary-like film was shot on location in some of Tehran's poorest areas.

Director: Majid Majidi
Producer: Mohammad Esfandiari, Amir Esfandiari
Screenwriter: Majid Majidi
Distributor: Miramax Films, Buena Vista International [us]
Production Co: Miramax
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Persian
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 7, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $925.4K
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

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