The Song of Sparrows: A heartwarming, beautiful movie from Iran

Movie title: The Song of Sparrows Original title: Avaze gonjeshk-ha Director: Majid Majidi

The best movie is the one that awakens the humanity inside you. You laugh at the screen, wipe occasional tears, press your movie partner’s hand a little extra at the emotional scenes, and mostly you grieve.

Majid Majidi’s ‘The Song of Sparrows’ is the story of a family. A father adapting a job in the city, calculating expenses and income, a kind mother who protects her children. And children who are always in motion, cheerful and who dream big.

Majidi’s reels are wide, he captures the landscape wide around the subject. His frames are so much more than characters and stories - he brings the rhythm of the surroundings - be it the waves in a steppe field, or the ambulance whistle in a bustling city. 

The father’s role was played outstandingly by the lead actor. The character was of a calculative father - who is always searching this, storing that for his family. He looks like the image of a dedicated father with his one grimy shirt, sweaty face, deep furrowed brows and hardened knuckles.

While watching the movie, I was back to my first known home, in the suburb Shibganj. We had the same old fashioned curtain in our house as we see in Karim’s—faded pink flowers on white canvas… Iranian rural homes with a small pool for washing, our Shibganj home had a similar set up, only with a tubewell.

I was reminded of life’s simplicity. I crave stories like this, that humbles me, and that teaches me to be resilient.