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The Song of Sparrows

That Majid Majidi is a master does not need retelling. Ample evidence of that lies in Baran, Children of Heaven and Colours of Paradise. And to a great extent in The Song of Sparrows.

This is a film that has everything that Majidi is known for –wonderful actors, including a livewire band of child actors, panoramic cinematography (Tooraj Mansouri) which like in all Majidi films captures Iran’s vast openness at its most beautiful and contrasts it with the claustrophobia of the urban landscape, a fine mix of humour and melancholy, and above all, a deep humanist thought that gets life through a story of multiple meanings but told in an utterly simple manner.

This is a film in which Majidi raises a moral debate on how – and not whether - capitalism corrupts human values. Some might find Majidi’s style a bit to sentiment driven,...

Award winner at the Berlin International Film Festival and selected to represent Iran in the race for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes, The Song of Sparrows lives up to its subtle praise by depicting a beautiful portrait of an Iranian pastoral town. This English subtitled film begins as Karim, head of the household, loses an ostrich on the farm he works. This consequently costs him his job and dignity as he chases the fast bird and tries desperately to attract it by dressing up in a silly costume. This silently comedic film immediately captured my attention within the first ten minutes due to the cinematography of Tooraj Mansouri, leading me to watch the remainder if not for simply the entertainment but for the sheer beauty of the scenery.

Karim, unemployed, broke and unable to buy his daughter a new hearing aid, heads into the town of Tehran on...