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Such a frustrating disappointment

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The Color of Paradise (1999): Dir: Majid Majidi / Cast: Moshen Ranmezani, Hossein Mahjub, Salameh Feyzi, Farahnaz Safari, Elham Sharifi: Beautiful foreign film that makes enquiries about God's existence. Title actually asks what colour God is? Set in Tehran where a little blind boy awaits to be picked up by his father at his special school. His father is widowed and lives with his mother on a farm and makes wages working the coal mines. He ponders the idea of abandoning his son because he fears that his son's condition will interfere with his upcoming wedding plans. Very powerful with a two way ending that can indicate God's power to punish or to show mercy. The ending can be translated to viewers either way and neither are necessarily wrong. Director Majid Majidi previously made Children of Heaven with similar themes. Strong performances by Moshen Ranmezani who lives life by feel and scent. Hossein Mahjub is convicting as his father who brings on his own trials in his quest to perfect his lifestyle. His mother loves her grandchild despite his limitations, and his driven to health issues upon the news that her son gave him away. Then there is the family her son attempts to wed into before facts surface. It all comes down to responsibility and owning up to your own choices in life. It shows how God can use trials to shape our lives to better creations. Score: 10 / 10

What can I say about "The Color of Paradise" ! I could not take my eyes away from the film for a single second. I was infatuated, cherished to see a film like this. I was touched thoroughly. I felt extremely sad at the end. Acting, camera-work, dialog, direction, music, everything, everything is remarkable and exceptional. It doesn't matter how many time you watch this film, it will not be boring ever. Rather, it will revive you.I thought blind people are like dead people. They can not see the graceful nature, immensity of the world, thousands of color around, they can not differentiate light and dark, they always live in darkness. But, I did not aware of how strongly they feel everything and how colorful their mind can be. Now I see a lot of blind people with eyes, and how blind people see without eyes.

This is my second Iranian movie I've seen, by the same director and I must say I am really impressed. It's once again proved that not only big budget movies can make impression, but also the small budget ones when it comes to metaphors, the essence of life and simplicity. Feelings, concerns, wisdom, drama and joy, all of these you'll find in this great picture that will mark your "view" forever. The center of attention in here is not only the poor blind boy without a mother, but also the attention he pays attention to the world, to all is living or not. He learns fast and he loves strong, he lives trying to accumulate everything, to find a message in every plant, sound, shape, bird chatters. A great movie that every one of us should see.

A strong, moving tale of beauty and faith. Ramezani (blind in real life) plays a blind boy returning home for the summer from his school for the blind. He is considered a burden by his father, whom pities himself more than his son. The message of the film is one against self-pity. Mohammad finds beauty everywhere he goes, and it is captured in every frame. Seeing him find a bird fallen from its nest and returning it is a lengthy, simple, but captivating scene. Once he returns home, Mohammad reunites with his sisters and Grandmother. They all treat Mohammad as an equal, and use his "disability" to experience the world in new ways. It's difficult to capture the struggles of the blind in a visual medium, so looking at the unique feelings is a much more appropriate way of handling the subject. He amazes a teacher by reading with braille, he focuses on the sounds of birds, and he holds his breath as he hears the waves about to crash over his feet. Mahjoob plays the father well, but his self-pity becomes a chore for the viewer. He isn't cruel in an evil sense, just too whiny to really connect with. The sound department do a great job at singling out specific sounds as Mohammad analyses the world around him. Simple and powerful, The Color of Paradise shows true emotion through its unrivaled photography of the Iranian countryside.