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A very powerful film about a little boy losing his shoes. It's almost tempting to ask what kind of topic this is, but when you have the right characters, the right setting, and the right social class, a strong film can be made out of it. Iranian cinema once again proves to be among the long-term best from Arab countries. (06.07.2016)

This was my first Iranian film, and it turned out to be a beautiful and touching story centered around children. The plot revolves around a pair of lost shoes, and somehow, the filmmakers manage to turn that into an 89-minute film. But it's not just any film—it's filled with raw childhood emotions, powerful moments, and unforgettable scenes. It really makes you reflect on how different countries reveal problems we can’t even imagine, while we’re often caught up complaining about small things in our own lives. (24.12.2011)

You got me, you bastards! I am usually immune to the exploitation of children in cinema and emotional manipulation of viewers, and this mass-abused trend annoys me. But when I think about it, I can't really criticize Majidi's film for anything significant. It is an honest and well-made social drama with very good performances by the child actors, and I did not notice any flaws in the script, although it is possible that I have not familiarized myself enough with the social reality of the Iranian urban environment to discover any embellishments of reality. As both the director and screenwriter, Majidi simply succeeds in capturing the emotions he strives for in his film. In Europe, at least since the mid-50s, this genre no longer works because the welfare state has taken care of erasing the most glaring images of poverty and social deprivation. Overall impression: 90%. My five stars may also be related to the fact that I am not that familiar with Iranian cinema. If I count correctly, this is only the fifth feature film I have seen. Iranian filmmakers tend to overuse child motifs due to censorship and numerous social taboos, so a third or subsequent film on this topic might not impress me as much. (22.12.2018)

It was a great idea to criticize degrading social conditions through an almost fairy-tale story told from a naive child's perspective. And while the execution isn’t groundbreaking in terms of artistic values or emotions, and the film falls short of the similarly-tuned Slumdog Millionaire in almost every respect, the final impression, which includes, among other things, just about everything we criticize elsewhere (from moral omniscience to visible emotional blackmail), could hardly be better or more sympathetic. Majid Majidi very skilfully weaves in between all the clichés, lets his love for the craft speak for itself and gives his characters such a vivid and believable form that I would be ashamed not to cheer for them and live with them for those 90 minutes until the very, by the way, really touching end. To the land of hell I hereby send a divine 4* :)) 80% (16.02.2014)