Color of Paradise

Pros: Naturalistic acting; poignant, heartrending moments; subtly gorgeous imagery of Iranian countryside.

Cons: Weakness of father’s character; emotionally draining.

The Bottom Line: Another heartbreaking film about children from Majid Majidi, that recalls de Sica and Ray.

Review: In ‘The Color of Paradise’ (‘Rang-e khoda’, 1999), we first notice Mohammad only when he’s left all alone at the school entrance, still waiting for his father to pick him up. Mohammad is perhaps eight or nine years old, is a very ...

Pros: Takes a jab at your own self-centered problems, partially because it is a foreign film

Cons: None - the Farsi makes it more intense!

The Bottom Line: A mountain village of splendiferous colors, a blind boy of brilliance and sensitivy, a bitter and suffering father, loving sisters, devoted grandmother, fantastic emotions

Review: I have met Iranian immigrants here in the San Francisco Bay Area, drawn to them for some inexplicable force emanating out of them. They seem far above Americans in perceptiveness and sensitivity to others. It is in meeting them here that I found myself...

Pros: flawlessly acted, beautifully directed and one of the most beautiful films to look at in a long lont time.

Cons: Only if you lack any sensitivity to the differences in cultures.

Review: You may find it difficult to rent a quiet, deceptively simple film about a few months in the life of a blind boy–but overcome your resistance and treat yourself to one of the finest films of the year.. A gem. And one of the most beautiful looking films...

Pros: Nice imagery, the performance of the lead child actor.

Cons: Slow-moving

The Bottom Line: Definitely a great example of Iranian cinema. Another good choice is Majid Majidi's The Children of Heaven.

Review: The Colour of Paradise is living proof that not every filmmaker from Iran is a pretentious bore. I have to say that because my memory of Abbas Kiorostami’s Where is the Friend’s Home is only somewhat deluded from the time that I actually watched the...

Pros: A blind boy acting. The plot. The views of Northern Iran.

Cons: The movie ends....

The Bottom Line: For a visually beautiful, sad but touching view of a blind boys struggle and how he teaches his father to love, see this wonderful movie!

Review: The movie was in Persian with English subtitles but the story could have been in any language as themes and visuals will speak to you in whispers and shouts. In our universal language there is love, strength, anguish, shame, overcoming adversity. It's ...

Pros: Beautiful; Simple tale of heartfelt emotions; delicate; Profound.

Cons: None.

The Bottom Line: Blindness cannot only be physical.

Review: The Color of Paradise is a simple film about beauty alone. The film is more about vision than blindness even though the main character, a young boy named Mohammad is physically blind. The story follows Mohammad and his search for his father's love. His...

Pros: Beautiful film and scenery and story

Cons: none

Review: This is without a doubt one of the best movies of the year. Having never seen an Iranian film before, but being a big fan of foreign films, this one caught my attention after reading a review in the local paper. Words cannot do justice to the...

Pros: Visually pleasing, you really love Mohammad

Cons: Should I complain about it being too short? Hmm…

The Bottom Line: Though it may not please everyone, it is a simple movie with deeper undertones that most can appreciate. Kind of like a lazy summer day with rain on the horizon.

Review: Suddenly I find myself in Iran, and I’m going to be there for three weeks. No, not the actual country – in my film class! You silly people. Iran has a rich history concerning film, something I never would have guessed. I suppose that makes me an ...

Pros: Imagery - poetic storytelling

Cons: It's not a good choice for cynical, action-oriented movie-goers

Review: Majid Majidi's "Children of Heaven," about two children who share the same well-worn pair of sneakers, received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film of 1998, yet it never had a national release. However, this new entry by the Iranian...

Pros: Good story,well presented

Cons: Had to read the movie(subtitles)

Review: My wife and I saw "The Color of Paradise" at our local foreign-independent-off-beat movie complex, the Liittle Theatres. We only knew that it was an Iranian film, and was about a blind boy.

The story really is as much about...