Sun Children

Sun Children, also known as The Sun, is a 2020 Iranian drama film co-produced, co-written and directed by Majid Majidi. It was presented in competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival, where child actor Rouhollah Zamani won the Marcello Mastroianni Award. It was selected as the Iranian entry for the Academy Award for [Best International Feature Film|Best International Feature Film] at the 93rd [Academy Awards], making the shortlist of fifteen films.

Plot

12-year-old Ali and his three friends do small jobs and petty crimes to survive and support their families. In a timely turn of events, Ali is entrusted to find a hidden underground treasure. However, in order to gain access to the tunnel where the treasure is buried, Ali and his gang must first enroll at the near Sun School, a charitable institution that tries to educate street kids and child laborers.

Cast

Rouhollah Zamani as Ali
Javad Ezzati as School Vice Principal
Shamila Shirzad as Zahra
Ali Nassirian as Hashem
Abolfazl Shirzad as Abolfazl
Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Mousavi Fard as Mamad
Mani Ghafouri as Reza
Safar Mohammadi as School Janitor
Ali Ghabeshi as School Principal
Tannaz Tabatabaei as Ali's mother.

Reception

Critical response

Overall, the film has received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of. Metacritic, assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Xan Brooks of The Guardian described it as "energetic and heartfelt." The film also received praise from Peter Debruge at Variety and Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter.