Its the end of term at the school for the blind in Iran. Mohammed a bright young pupil waits patiently for his father to collect him for the holiday. He waits a long time because his father, a widower, believes having a blind son at home will damage his chances of finding a rich new wife. With no alternative the father finally takes the boy back but determines to keep him from the public eye as far as he can. For a boy as clever and ambitious as Mohammed, the channelling of his life into unfulfilling roles is hard to accept.

This beautifully made film presents the audience with a world of colour and counterpoints this visual impact with the blind boy’s world of sound, similarly complex and informative. Directed with restraint by Majidi, the effective emotional development of the film revolves around duty, family and God and builds to a quite unexpected conclusion. Majidi’s work is characterised by a simple message against western consumerism in life and in film-making, and this is indeed a wonderfully acted family fable with emotional clout and not a computer graphic or product placement in sight.

The Color of Paradise is a family film that shames the facile commercialism of a product like Pokemon and its value system based on power and greed. Because they do not condescend to young audiences, Majidi’s films of course are absorbing for adults as well, and there is a lesson here Any family film not good enough for grownups is certainly not good enough for children. Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times.

This is a transcendent film, deeply committed and beautifully wrought. It will make anyone who sees it look at the world with new eyes. Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle.

You can almost hear the snore of apathy as people react to the opening of this new Iranian film. And yet, remembering that most films from most places are easy to understand, The Color of Paradise is no exception, revealing itself as a simple, clear, deep, moving story from beginning to end. Michael Thomson BBC-Films Review