Children of Heaven is a tender little Iranian film about honor and love between young siblings. It's a film to be experienced and savored like the very best and most basic fables. Writer/director Majid Majidi has fashioned a universal tale, with vivid characters, that can be enjoyed by all ages.

The story concerns 9-year old Ali (Mir Farrokh Hashemian) and his 7-year old sister, Zahra (Bahare Seddigi). They are the only children of a poor Iranian family, whom we watch casually as they go about their daily chores and routines. Ali has just taken his sister's falling-apart pink shoes to the local cobbler for repair. On the way home, he stops at a vegetable stand, where the shoes are inadvertantly taken by a street peddlar. Ali searches frantically for the shoes, to no avail, and returns home desolate to tell Zahra. Zahra is alarmed, because she has no other shoes to wear to school. Not wanting to alarm their parents, they hit upon a scheme to share Ali's sneakers, in shifts. Unfortunately, fate conspires against them in myriad ways, and it becomes more and more difficult to keep up their charade.

On the surface, the film is about the many ways Ali attempts to solve his problem without bothering his folks, who have other, more pressing dilemmas, such as lack of work and another child on the way. But more important, this is a story about the unconditional affection that Ali holds for Zahra. He will do anything for her, out of a sense of family, duty, and love. It's a message that rears its head all too infrequently in film, and as such—yes, even with its subtitles—Children of Heaven should be required viewing for all children. Beyond its sweet message, the film also offers a fascinating glimpse of a culture that differs startlingly from our own—and yet it's not so different if you look closely.

Buena Vista presents Children of Heaven in a surprisingly fine anamorphic-widescreen transfer of the film's original 1.85:1 theatrical presentation. Aside from minor problems with the source print, this is a beautiful transfer. Colors are vivid and accurate, and blacks are deep. Detail is especially pleasing, reaching into backgrounds. The film has a very naturalistic look that comes across perfectly. The only flaws, as mentioned, are minor specks and scratches.

The DVD offers two sounds choices: the original Farsi 2.0 track and a French 2.0 track. Neither track is particularly dynamic, but this gentle, dialog-driven film doesn't demand such a track. Dialog is quite natural, and the busy sounds of Iranian life are nicely spread across the front.You can select English closed-captioning or English subtitles. Unfortunately, the disc defaults to the closed-captioning. You can also choose to watch without any subtitles.

You get sneak peeks for Baran, Miramax Year of Gold, and Stolen Summer.

Children of Heaven is an ideal film to show to your own children. It's much richer, sweeter, and more honest than the majority of "family films" out today. The fact that most families will never give this film a chance—because it's foreign, or simply because they'll never hear about it—is criminal.