THE COLOR OF PARADISE

THE COLOR OF PARADISE - 1999

RATED - PG for mature themes. VERY family friendly.

RATINGS - 75 Amazon (5/5), 75,077 Netflix (3.8/5), 2,955 IMDB (7.7/10), Roger Ebert (4/4)

AWARDS - 10 wins and 8 nominations at various film festivals.

THEMES - Relationships, reconciliation, physical handicaps.

STORY - From the producer of the ACADEMY AWARD nominee, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN, Majid Majidi, comes this sequel, THE COLOR OF PARADISE. Described as 'Stunningly beautiful. A gem." by Stephen Holden of the New York Times. Winner of the BEST PICTURE at the 1999 Montreal Film Festival and other awards internationally, this is a story about an 8 year old blind boy and his relationship with his widowed father. It grabs your heart immediately as the boarding school for blind children in Tehran, where Mohammad attends, is ending for summer vacation. Mohammad is the only child left after all the other parents have picked up their children. He is sitting alone on a bench and hears a baby bird fall out of its nest and chirping on the ground. He also hears a cat nearby. He manages to shoo the cat away and find the baby bird and climb the tree and return it to its nest. Welcome to the world of the blind. His father finally arrives and wants to leave him there. We meet a poor, hard working man from a rural village who has lost his wife and is trying to raise his other two daughters and make a living as best he can. He also wants to remarry and considers Mohammad to be an obstacle to finding a wife. The rest is a wonderful human interest story. The scenery is outstanding. Iran is really a beautiful country in many areas. Many emotions come to the surface during the film. It is a film you can easily watch with children who are mature enough to understand the themes. It is worth watching just to better understand the handicap of being a blind child. If you've seen CHILDREN OF HEAVEN, you know what's in store. Rated PG for mature themes, there is no offensive language or material of any kind. YOU WILL BE DOING YOURSELF A FAVOR BY PUTTING THIS AT THE TOP OF YOUR LIST. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/22/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, TRAILER, ROGER EBERT

A PATCH OF BLUE

A PATCH OF BLUE - 1965

RATED - NR but probably PG for minor violence & language.

RATINGS - 52 Amazon (4.5/5), 61,259 Netflix (3.9/5), 1,903 IMDB (7.9/10).

AWARDS - 1966 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Shelley Winters) plus 5 Academy nominations. 1967 BAFTA Best Actor nominee (Sidney Poitier).

THEMES - Racial reconciliation, relationships, love, justice.

STORY - Imagine, you're 18 years old, blind, uneducated and virtually a prisoner of your own home. Your father is gone, your mother is abusive, demanding and overbearing and your grandfather is a hopeless alcoholic. Salina (Elizabeth Hartman) is that young woman, who is confined to a dumpy, small apartment and for practical purposes, is the personal slave of her mother(Shelley Winters) and 'ol granpa'. She knows her way around the apartment without hesitation and cooks, cleans and washes their clothes. She also strings beads to earn money and has a daily quota. On a rare day, someone takes her to the park and leaves her until night when 'ol granpa' picks her up on his way home from the bar. One day, she's noticed by Gordon (Sidney Poitier) who befriends her. They eventually become friends. She remarks one day that 'friend' is her new favorite word and asks Gordon what his is. He replies 'tolerance'. While Salina is color blind (literally) Gordon is struggling with his own racial feelings. His brother, a doctor, belittles him for helping a white girl. 'Let Whitey take care of their own', he says. This is a story about friendship, racial prejudice and what it means to be truly color blind. This movie was made in the middle of one of the most racially charged decades of our history to put it into perspective. The story builds to an emotional climax when the mother discovers she's been seeing a black man. Another gem with Sidney Poitier. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 04/25/2008.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB.