There are more than 152 million children around the world working daily under very hazardous conditions and again this is only the official data.
Sun Children (Khorshid) is an Iranian movie directed by Majid Majidi, One of the best known names in World cinema. He made many important movies about exploited and underprivileged children in the world cinema. Which brings him many accolades around the world. Khorshid is the story of a 12 year old boy , named Ali , and his friends on an adventure to find a treasure. Ali and his friends are working in a garage. They are also doing some petty crimes to make fast money. They need money to support their families and to live a better life. When a local don hires Ali and his friends to find a hidden treasure underground in a school. They all must be enrolled in the school to find the treasure. Through this interesting plot the director tries to convey some really important but harsh reality about our world. Street children are always at a risk of exploitation. If the world is not taking care of them now then the world will suffer ultimately. The story is focused on the lessons Ali learns from this adventure. Movie also explores the situation of other street kids, especially Ali’s gang. The NGO school, which works to educate street children, is in financial trouble and on the verge of closure. The school’s fight for its survival along with the street children’s fight is portrayed very beautifully in the movie. It also emphasized on the unwillingness of our society to recognize this crisis. The teacher character is very well written. How he builds his trust with Ali is very well narrated. In school they explore their inner talent, learn about friendship, and learn to set their career goal. This leads to a great realization for Ali in the climax.
It looks like a simple story but you’ll be surprised by the complex and layered narrative of the story. The cinematography is very colorful and beautifully shot. Everyone in the movie acts perfectly. The interesting fact is all the child actors in the movie are real child workers. But act like professional actors.
In the director’s words, these children are the real treasure and through education they can find that treasure inside them.
A real treasure to the world cinema.