Oh my god! what a GEM! Enuf said - run to your Netflix Q or nearest Video store to grab this. One of the best movies I’ve ever seen - right up there with ‘Life is Beautiful’. From the famous Iranian director Majid Majidi comes this simple tale of a brother and sister, told with such elegance, such attention to detail that you will be riveted to the screen for the whole 90 minutes (minus a crappy 5mins in between). Seems to be an loose inspiration from the old 40’s Italian movie ‘The Bicycle Thief’ - but I liked Children of Heaven much better than B/W Bicycle Thief (may coz of the cute factor:)

Without exploiting the suffering of the poor for a cheap tear drop, this film manages to weave their suffering into the fabric of the story and concentrating on the brother sister relationship as they fight through the odds. The characters are shown as happy, content and honest. The school headmaster, the ailing neighbor, the landlord all shine through Majid’s excellent characterization. You are guaranteed to fall in love with the little kids: lion hearted Ali and doe eyed Zara.

After seeing Abbas Kiarostami’s critically acclaimed ‘Taste of Cherry’, which turned out to be such a drag - I was wary of picking up another ‘art’ film - but I am glad I did. No fancy camera angles, no special effects straight simple and gripping!

A must must see.

***** (5/5)