The Color of paradise = The Colour of paradise

After the end of term at a school for the blind in Teheran, Mohammed, an eight year old blind boy, and his father make the long journey on foot and horseback back to their village in the northern highlands of Iran. Though Mohammed quickly settles back into his idyllic life in the country with his two sisters and his grandmother, his widower father, who wants to remarry, decides to send him to work for a blind carpenter far from home. The film starts with a child’s perception of the world and expands its vision to encompass the emotional complexities of the adult world. Dividing the focus evenly between Mohammed and his father, it provides insight into wider social and cultural issues at play which resonate deeply through the caustic comments of the boy’s grandmother. While the soundtrack’s constantly shifting chorus of birds, insects, wind and rain draws attention to the sounds Mohammad hears, the film also reveals the beauty he is unable to see. Moving through fields of flowers and misty forests, across streams and into the craggy backwoods country, it offers a visionary experience of the natural world. Cast includes Hossein Mahjoub, Mohsen Ramezani, Salime Feizi and Farahnaz Safari. In Farsi with English subtitles.