ifilm’s weekend movie; ‘rebuke to materialist consumerism’ in western films about kids

ifilm English TV channel is set to broadcast Majid Majidi’s ‘The Color of God’ on Saturday, which was described by a prominent US critic as a “rebuke to the materialist consumerism in western films about children”.

The 1999's film ‘The Color of God’ (aka The Color of Paradise) participated at various festivals across the globe, and managed to bag many awards.

It also received a theatrical release in Hungary, Belarus, Bulgaria and The Philippines. It was also well received by American and Japanese audiences.

Majidi, who tries to address the human nature in his films, was addressing the instinct of God-seeking in ‘The Color of God’.

“A young blind boy comes home from a boarding school to spend summer vacation with his family. For him it is just returning to everything he cares about, like his grandmother, sister and the home life. However, his father is finding his son's disability too much to bear,” a synopsis for the film reads.

Back in 2000, American film critic Roger Ebert said Majidi in ‘The Color of God’ and his previous film ‘Children of Heaven’ “provides a quiet rebuke to the materialist consumerism in Western films about children”.

He described it as “too deliberately simple” film “made with delicacy and beauty”.

‘The Color of God’,  which was also aired on a Kuwaiti TV channel, was hailed by Abdul Mohsen al-Shammari, a writer for Al-Qabas newspaper, who said “The film shows the real face of the Iranian cinema after the Islamic Revolution.”

Majid Majidi was acting until 1989, when he quit acting and began his directing career with a few short films.

He won several awards for his prestigious films.

His 1997 family drama flick ‘Children of Heaven’ was the first Iranian film to be nominated for an Oscar.

In 2015, he directed the flick ‘Muhammad: The Messenger of God’, Iran's most expensive movie to date.

‘The Color of God’ will air on ifilm on Saturday at 22:00 GMT.

SQ/FM