Children of Heaven

By Britt Perkins

Shoes are important. Shoes for your feet. Shoes for your heart.

Things seem to be working in themes for me. Last month was the end of my bike theme, and now I seem to have a shoe theme.

It began with the purchase of a pair of TOMS from the lovely Roberto Evans at The Exchange on University Ave. It continued with Blake Mycoskie’ssplendid Accent speech. And again, shoes are at the crux of the issue in Children of Heaven.

Synopsis:
“In this Oscar-nominated Iranian drama from filmmaker Majid Majidi, a young boy (Amir Farrokh Hashemian) accidentally loses his sister’s (Bahare Seddiqi) shoes and must share his own sneakers with her in a sort of relay while each attends school at different times during the day. The boy ultimately enters a much-publicized foot race in hopes of placing third and taking home the prize: a new pair of sneakers.”

This story not only highlights the importance of basic needs, but the extra importance that children place on them when their world is so much smaller.

I’m sure we all have a heartbreaking story where something as insignificant as a piece of paper brought us to tears and the world seemed to be ending.

For me, it was when I messed up my mom’s birthday card with messy handwriting and messier correction fluid. It was a tragedy.

The acting is spot on in representing these simple emotions. The children fill most of the scenes, and the point of view is completely theirs.

However, there wasn’t really a catharsis in the resolution. We know what happens, but the director doesn’t show us, which was kind of disappointing to me. I suppose it went along with the style of the movie, but I just like a really strong, clear ending. And I didn’t get it.

That being said, I liked Children of Heaven.

These kids want to go to school. They want to make it. A few pieces of cloth and rubber can get them into ridiculous amounts of trouble and prevent this from happening.

This also makes TOMS mission even more valuable. It’s not just about some kids being better off with shoes. It’s about giving them opportunities they would not have without them.

Ok, I’m done gushing about shoes.

P.S. Look for more comedy in the Flick File. I realize everything I’ve been watching has been pretty effing dark lately. Oopsies. More diversity to come.