Direction: Majid Majidi
Country: Iran
Majid Majidi, a director of righteous social conviction, returns to his effective screen formula to denounce the struggles of children in contemporary Iran. His latest drama film, Sun Children, is dedicated to the 150 million children forced to illegal labor in order to survive, whether because of some misfortune in life or to comply with the wish of their irresponsible parents.
The story he wrote with Nima Javidi centers on Ali Zamani (newcomer Rouhollah Zamani), a 12-year-old street-wise who works in a garage since a car accident sent his mother to a public hospital. His boss is a local gangster, Hashem (Ali Nassirian), who assigns him with a complex mission: to find a treasure buried under the town's cemetery. The underground tunnel that leads there has its entrance at the Sun School, located next to it, where Ali and his three companions will have to enroll to gain access.
The charitable yet bankrupted school happens to be more like a blessing than a burden, filled with 280 rebellious yet inseparable street kids in need of care, and fronted by a sympathetic principal (Ali Ghabeshi) who always tries to understand first before educate them accordingly.
This sad song abounds with sweat and frustration, and its energy is unfluctuating throughout, even at those times when a circumstantial emotional manipulation tries to impose, fortunately, with no major consequences. In fact, the film is ultimately hopeless but never bleak, taking a realistic look at one of the most serious issues in the Iranian society. And speaking of issues, in a parallel incident, the police is not spared for its excess of zeal and lack of tact.
Sun Children might not be among Majidi's best works such as Children of Heaven (1997), The Color of Paradise (1999) and The Song of Sparrows (2008), but its visual acuteness together with the powerful message makes it a ride bound to be taken seriously.
