palmiro This film has a pretty heavy religious overtone (film begins with a dedication to "Allah") that seems to have been blurred and missed by the American audience who loved it--taken as they were with the sorrowful tale of a sensitive blind boy. It's really the story of Job told in an Islamic setting. The commandment that comes from on high is to acknowledge and submit to your lot in life--in the case of the father: to devote himself to his son and his well-being, despite the heavy burden that that imposes on him. There's also the message that, along life's way, we must always be attentive to the needs of others (as exemplified, in a positive way, by the blind boy's rescue of "animalitos" in distress; and, in a negative way, by the father's lack of attention to the turtle on its back and in distress). And the failure of the father to submit to the lot of Job means that he must suffer God's wrath and further punishment. "God's will be done", as they say. Not a bad message coming from Islam in one sense: One should shoulder one's responsibilities towards others who are needy; but, do we need the threat of divine punishment to recognize this duty we all have to "do the right thing?" After all, a humanist doesn't need to read the Koran to know that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. For my taste, just too easy a play for and manipulation of our feelings with the use of a blind kid.

Python Hyena 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

Ben Ralston This film is a perfect portrayal of humanity's search for (re)connection- through relationship with others (in this case the boy's Father)- and finally with something Sacred.This is not a 'feel-good' movie. No special effects or action. If you're in the mood to be entertained, this might not hit the spot.But if you're able to appreciate beautiful art that speaks to the essence of who we are as human beings, you really will be moved by this film.Very well directed and acted, beautifully filmed (it's so visually stunning that you will want to visit Iran after watching it!), and with an amazing soundtrack - one of the things that to this day stayed with me after watching it many years ago is the birdsong when the boy is in the forest.Haunting. Touching. Beautiful! Don't miss...

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain 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.