Film Review:
The Color of Paradise
Director & Writer: Majid Majidi
PG | 1h 30min | Drama, Family | 1999
The film “the color of paradise” written and directed by Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi I must say is a masterpiece. The story follows Mohamed, a blind little boy studying in a school for the blinds away from his family. In the last day of the school year his father picks him up and they travel together to the village where his two sisters and grandmother live. Mohamed is indeed so beloved by all his family members, except by his father who feels that his son is a heavy burden to keep living with due to his disability and especially after his wife passed away. Attempting to live the life he wants the father propose to another women and send his son to live with a blind carpenter under the excuse to “teach him a useful trade” that he can benefit from when he becomes an adult. The story explores many subjects such as religion, the meaning of god, selfish human desires and what it is like to be a blind little boy.
God is not visible. He is everywhere. You can feel Him. You see Him through your fingertips
The Color of Paradise
We see through Mohamed’s journey how much he longs to have the ability to see, he raises questions about why god doesn’t love him when everyone tells him otherwise, and if indeed god loved him then why did he made him blind. We get to see the natural ugly human desire to be selfish and not care for others by how the father treats Mohamed unfairly and puts himself first over his child needs and feelings. On the other hand, Mohamed’s grandmother loved and adored her grandchild and tried in multiple occasions to explain to his father how much his son is a unique pure gift from god. This reveals the contrast between the relationship between Mohamed and his father, and between Mohamed and his grandmother and the different perspectives the two characters viewed him in. The grandmother saw beyond his disability, she saw deeply into his soul. All of that was expressed in brilliant acting and beautiful visual cinematography.
The movie takes us into the beautiful village side showing all the colorful flowers, shining nature spots and the pure children running and playing. The soundtrack made the visual imagery a heavenly one, and the use of off screen was right on point especially in the opening scene when we were introduced to the world of the story, the main characters and the setting. Director Majid Majidi concludes the story by showing a very emotional scene when the bridge Mohamed and his father were walking on falls apart and Mohamed falls into the river that washes him away, the voice of the water splashing indulged me in the scene and made me quite worried about Mohamed’s safety as his father kept looking for him, those marvelous cuts of the river’s water showed a good editing skills.
Now I reach out everywhere for God till the day my hands touch Him and tell Him everything, even all the secrets in my heart.
The Color of Paradise
The movie color of paradise could be a great start to explore film director Majid Majidi’s work. It follows a simple story yet explores deeper topics and it is visually appealing. I really recommend you to turn off the lights, sit comfortably, prepare a cup of you favorite hot drink and enjoy this masterpiece as it is a perfect pick for a relaxed movie night.
Hadeel Moharram, February 8, 2021