19 April 2012
“Children of Heaven” Movie analysis “Children of Heaven” is a movie about the life of the poor families. The little brother Ali and his sister Zara are the main characters in the movie. Living is such a poor family teaches Ali and Zara a lot of moral values. The lost of Zara’s shoes, the situation and the place they live in and the participation of Ali in the running marathon are all symbols of how much the kids learn throughout their lives and how much they value the little things they have. The movie takes place in Tehran, where people are very poor. However, living such a simple life and having just enough to survive symbolize the closeness of the family and neighbors, and the people in the town at whole. All the people in this neighborhood are very poor and they struggle to live, but they also learn a lot this way. They help each other a lot, children do work around the house, and the neighbors help each other with small things that mean a lot to them, like a handful of nuts. The man that works in the grociery store let people take food and pay him back later when they can. Smart things are very important for the people in this neighborhood and this is why they value life so much. The little children Ali and Zara feel priviledge to be bale to go to school and study. They don’t take that for granted like kids here in USA and other modern countries. Ali stays home and helps his mom when she sick instead of going out and playing with his friends, while his sister takes care of the baby. Ali also goes with his father to the rich people’s neighborhood to help him find a job so they can make some extra money. Ali and Zara learn so much about life and so many values at such a young age. They know the price of small things in life and they don’t take anything that they have for granted. The pen that Ali gives to his sister Zara makes her so happy, she learns to chersih small things like that and love them. The love that the little brother and sister have for each other is expressed with the lost of Zara’s shoes. The shoes are symbol of the importance of small things in life. When Ali loses his sister’s shoes he doesn’t want to tell his parents because he knows they don’t have money to buy Zara new shoes. He is so young but he doesn’t want to worry his parents and he faces the problem by himself. He know that without her shoes Zara can’t go to school and he worries a lot about that. This is when the boy and the girl start sharing one pair of shoes and wait for each other so every one of them can go to school on time. They don’t want to botehr their parents with this problem because they know they are poor and can not afford another pair of shoes. Ali and Zara love each other so much and even that the little girl is mad she never tells on his brother. The kids ignore the injustice in life and they still have fun with each other when together they wash the only pair of shoes they have. Zara even wakes up in the middle of the night because it is raining and she is worried that the shoes are going to get wet and they won’t be able to go to school the other day. It is amazing how thees kids are so young and they value things in life so much and every little thing that they have is so important. The story becomes even more interesting when after running all day to give the shoes to his sister, Ali decides to participate in a running marathon. The scene of the running marathon in the movie is another symbol of the love and care that these poor people have for each other. The have so much different values that people in modern places and they live with so little but they have more moral values and they understand what is really important in life.
The only reason why he wants to be a part of it is because he sees that the second price is a pair of new snikers. He wants to win the snikers so bad, however he doesn’t want them for hisself he wants to give new shoes to his little sister Zara. In life people are teached to be the best in everything. People learn that they have to give everything they can so they can be always first, people work so hard only so others can see that they are the best. Ali doesn’t want to win the run, he doesn’t care that he is not going to be first he just wants to win the snikers for his sister. This is more important for him than winning the first prisze. Ali just wants his sister to be happy and to have her own shoes. At the end of the running maratnon Ali asks if he finished second. He is very dissapointed when he realizes that he won the first place, everybody is happy and proud of him they call him the champion and want to take pictures with him. However he doesn’t care he is not even happy, all he thinks about is that in his mind he failed because he didn’t win the shoes for Zara. He doesn’t want her to be mad at him and dissapointed. “Children of Heaven” is a great movie that shows us a different type of life that people have. Struggling and having only little things gives this people moral lessons and values that people living in modern places don’t have. The life that Zara and Ali have to live shows them how to love each other and their family, to help each other with everything and not to take anything fro granted.