In this parabolic follow-up to Children of Heaven, Iranian writer and director Majid Majidi focuses on the life of Mohammad, an eight-year-old blind boy who is unloved by his widowed father, a poor coal worker. In the opening scenes of the film, the youth waits patiently to be picked up for summer vacation. Hearing the chirping of a baby bird that has fallen next to him, Mohammad lovingly retrieves the small creature, climbs a tree, and returns it to its nest. Clearly, this pure-hearted boy is at one with the natural world. He's also a wiz at reading Braille.
When his father finally arrives, the journey back to their village is a long one. In a touching scene, Mohammad is reunited with his two sisters and beloved grandmother. The boy's senses come alive in a beautiful field of wildflowers. His father, however, regards his blind son as a burden and a major obstacle in his plans to remarry. So he takes Mohammad away from his loving grandmother and sets him up as an apprentice to a blind carpenter.
Once again, Majid Majidi proves himself to be a talented chronicler of the lives of children. Mohammad is a true innocent filled with wonder and a sensitivity to everything that surrounds him. Seeing with the eyes of his heart, he is a world apart from his father who has no idea of what a treasure he has right in front of him. Taken as a spiritual parable The Color of Paradise speaks indirectly about the bounties of grace and the emptiness of a life not filled with gratitude to God.