Film Review: The Song of Sparrows

THE SONG OF SPARROWS (Majid Majidi, 2008)
In Iranian with English subtitles

Majid Majidi also directed Children of Heaven, one of my all-time favorite films. The theme of the The Song of Sparrows has some resemblance to that of Children of heaven - children act like children, they understand the poverty they're experiencing, and they do their share so as not to cause additional burden to their dedicated parents who usually make both ends meet to provide for their family basic needs. In Children of Heaven, the children spare their parents from additional burden when they make a scheme to cover up for the loss of a pair of shoes that one of them uses to go to school. In The Song of Sparrows, children build innocent dreams and they actually work for it. Both films are poignant and speak to one's soul (or humanity).

The father works in an ostrich farm. He gets fired when one ostrich runs away. His elder daughter is taking examinations in a month but her airing aid is broken and needs to be fixed. His young son is busy emptying and cleaning an abandoned water storage facility that he and his friends want to turn into a breeding ground for gold fish that they will sell and turn them into millionaires. The father goes to the city to have the hearing aid fixed. But he is mistaken as a motorcycle taxi driver - a blessing in disguise - which opens for him an opportunity to earn for a living. But is it really a blessing in disguise when his generous and honest nature is now at stake?

There are several scenes suggestive of visual poetry. This is an elegant work of sight and sound.

Rating: 4.0/4.0