Children of Heaven

Nine-year-old Ali is tasked with picking up his six-year-old sister Zahra's repaired pink shoes from the cobbler. This moment highlights his sense of responsibility despite their difficult living conditions.

While buying potatoes, Ali accidentally leaves Zahra's shoes hidden in a bag of vegetables. A homeless man, mistaking the bag for trash, takes it away, leading to a panic for Ali when he returns empty-handed.

In a frantic search for the missing shoes, Ali inadvertently knocks over a stack of goods at the grocer's shop. This incident prompts the grocer to chase Ali away, intensifying his sense of guilt and desperation.

Ali's family faces severe financial difficulties, which is exemplified by their landlord confronting Ali's mother over unpaid rent. This situation adds to Ali's stress as he struggles to deal with the lost shoes without alarming his parents.

Ali confides in Zahra about losing her shoes, and he begs her to keep it a secret from their mother. This moment establishes a bond of trust between the siblings as they start to devise a plan to cope with their misfortune.

In an effort to manage their situation, Ali and Zahra come up with a clever strategy where they will take turns wearing Ali's Converse sneakers for school. This showcases their creativity and teamwork in overcoming challenges together.

Ali excels in a test, earning high marks which earn him a gold-colored pen from his teacher. He eagerly gives the pen to Zahra as a gesture of goodwill, hoping to make amends for her lost shoes.

Regrettably, Ali's tardiness due to this plan leads to repeated punishments at school. After a series of warnings and threats from the principal, Ali's teacher intervenes, advocating for him based on his recent academic performance.

While in class, Zahra sees another student, Roya, wearing her pink shoes. This discovery leads her to follow Roya home, where they learn about the struggles the blind father faces, complicating any potential confrontation.

Roya's father buys her new violet shoes, discarding Zahra's pink ones in the process. This news reaches Zahra through a friend, deepening her heartbreak over her lost shoes and the unfairness of their situation.

In search of additional income, Ali's father borrows gardening tools and takes Ali to the rich suburbs of North Tehran hoping to find work. They finally secure a job at a wealthy home, providing a brief respite from their difficulties.

While heading home, Ali and his father experience a bicycle mishap that results in an injury for Ali's father. This accident serves as a painful reminder of their struggles and complicates their ongoing fight against poverty.

Ali learns about a prestigious children's 4-kilometer race where the third-place prize includes a new pair of sneakers for Zahra. The prospect of winning gives him hope and determination to succeed for his sister's sake.

In a surprising turn, Ali finishes first in the race but had only intended to secure third place for the shoes. Despite his victory, he struggles to reconcile his feelings about the win while his thoughts remain on Zahra’s shoes.

After the race, Ali returns home, filled with mixed emotions when he sees Zahra waiting eagerly. The film concludes with a poignant scene of Ali submerging his bare feet into water, a symbol of both suffering and hope for a better future.