"Little Shoes", a pure childhood struggling for a pair of shoes, sees the suffering of the Iranian world from a delicate perspective

Floy 2022-04-21 09:02:35

The Iranian film "Small Shoes" tells the story of a poor brother and sister's struggles over their thirst for a pair of shoes. The small observation angle and the plain photography style run through throughout, but there is a deep affection for warm tones everywhere. The simple story reveals many problems at different levels of Iranian society in the details. The director starts from the observation of the bottom-level characters, and also chooses the object that seems small but can represent the living situation - small shoes. In the film, when Harry retrieved the small shoes he repaired for his sister, he accidentally lost the only pair of shoes his sister had. In order to avoid the punishment of his parents, he begged his sister to make an agreement with him: his sister wears his shoes every day when she goes to school. , and then switch him to school after school. The only pair of shoes is exchanged on the feet of the brother and sister every day, and the desire to be able to retrieve the lost shoes or have another pair of shoes grows day by day in the two young hearts. They not only have to avoid their parents and the possible punishment of being late, but also have to bear the inconvenience of changing shoes, and also avoid the torture caused by the envy of other people's shoes. Delicate and straightforward depictions of children's hearts, their habitual and persistent desires in the face of hard life, cut in from a small perspective, and after widening the aesthetic distance, the viewers are not moved. Children come up with all kinds of ways to get their shoes, but life continues to hit them hard with no mercy. Harry tried to work in the city with his father to earn money, but his father was injured in an accident and spent the money he had promised to buy shoes for his sister for medical treatment. When Harry saw a pair of shoes as the prize for the national runner, he finally begged his teacher to give him permission to run. A slow-motion scene in the brother's race used various shooting techniques such as rotation and panning. The tense atmosphere and the desire of the two brothers and sisters were brought to the extreme. The sudden fall made the desire of the two brothers and sisters disappear in an instant. Iranian movies can always be like this, giving people a deep emotion under the calm picture. The older brother insisted, desperately getting up and running to the finish line and hitting the line first in the chaos. He accomplished the effort, but could not get the desire. When people congratulated the little champion, Harry raised a pair of tears full of disappointment. At the end of the film, Harry took off his completely worn shoes and soaked his blistered feet in a pool in the courtyard, and a school of fish swam towards him. The picture of the goldfish kissing the child's feet is highly regarded for its beauty and creativity. Meanwhile, his father was on his way home, with new shoes for Harry and his sister on his bike. This secret longing between brother and sister finally has a happy ending. The film seems to have a plain narrative, but it struggles in the twists and turns that the brother and sister yearn for unattainable.

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Children of Heaven quotes

  • Ali: Zahra, I have good news.

    Zahra: What news?

    Ali: I am selected for the race.

    Zahra: What race?

    Ali: Long-Distance Running. The third-best runner gets a pair of new sneakers.

    Zahra: Why the third?

    Ali: The First and Second prizes are something else. If I come in third, I'll give you the sneakers.

    Zahra: But those shoes are for boys.

    Ali: I'll exchange them. I'll get a pair of girl's shoes for you.

    Zahra: What if you don't come in third?

    Ali: I'll be third for sure.