Avaze gonjeshk-ha (The Song of Sparrows) (2009)
93%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: 7 wins & 2 nominations
A heartfelt, affecting parable, The Song of Sparrows is another gem from Iranian director Majid Majidi.
The Song of Sparrows is a heartwarming and touching film that will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate the simple things in life. Majid Majidi’s storytelling is masterful, and Reza Naji’s acting is superb. The film takes you on a journey through the struggles of an Iranian family and their daily life in the countryside. While some may find the pace slow, the lessons are clear and the production design is top-notch. Overall, The Song of Sparrows is a must-watch for anyone who loves a good tearjerker with a touch of sweetness and poignancy.
Production Company(ies)
Bi Bi Film, Rai Fiction, Film Commission Torino-Piemonte
Distributor
Regent Releasing
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Tehran, Iran
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for brief mild language
Year of Release
2008
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:1.78 : 1
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Runtime:1h 36m
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Language(s):Persian, Azerbaijani
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 3, 2009 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 9, 2010
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
The Song of Sparrows, starring Mohammad Amir Naji, directed by Majid Majidi, written by Mehran Kashani and Majid Majidi, drama, PG rating, box office gross of $115.9K, reviewed by David Fear, Jonathan Curiel, Dan Zak, Wesley Morris, Carrie Rickey, Stanley Kauffmann, Yasser Medina, Mattie Lucas, MaryAnn Johanson, Stan Hall, Frank Swietek, Les Wright, 2008 release, Persian language, Regent Releasing, Karim, ostrich, Tehran, hearing aid, motorcycle, businessman, poverty, family, materialism, values, Iranian countryside, cast includes Hamid Aghazi, Maryam Akbari, Kamran Dehghan, Schabnam Akhlaghi, Neshat Nazari
Worldwide gross: $220,360
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $303,537
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,850
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 33,101
US/Canada gross: $116,372
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $160,298
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,582
US/Canada opening weekend: $7,863
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $10,831
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,684
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Hamid Aghazi – Hossein
Maryam Akbari – Narges
Kamran Dehghan – Abbas
Schabnam Akhlaghi – Haneyeh
Neshat Nazari – Zarah
Majid Majidi – Director, Producer, Writer
Mehran Kashani – Writer
Director(s)
Majid Majidi
Writer(s)
Mehran Kashani, Majid Majidi
Producer(s)
Majid Majidi
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
7 wins & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (1)
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
David Fear
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
At times funny, sad, poignant and suspenseful, Sparrows is a showcase for Majidi’s masterful storytelling — and Naji’s superb acting.
June 12, 2009 | Rating: 4/4
Jonathan Curiel
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
At times tedious but ultimately beguiling, Song of Sparrows morphs from a sly dramedy about running a household into a fable about two ways of life (urban and rural) that can’t coexist.
June 12, 2009
Dan Zak
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
The images in The Song of Sparrows have a poetic grace that’s to be desired in storytelling.
May 28, 2009 | Rating: 2.5/4
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
May 15, 2009 | Rating: 3/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
It is somehow congenial to feel that we are watching a tale that could have been told elsewhere.
May 6, 2009
Stanley Kauffmann
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
‘The Song of Sparrows’ is a very moving film by the Iranian director Majid Majidi. It’s realism strikes me with subtlety as it presents a portrait of poverty, child labor and parental sacrifice. [Full review in Spanish]
August 4, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
At once dryly funny and deeply moving; an affecting portrait of an Iranian family as they deal with the struggles of every day life.
July 7, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
[A]stonishes with me its simplicity, its uncomplicated wisdom, its visual salience…
September 1, 2009
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher
The lessons are unsubtle and the pace drags near the end, but Naji is wonderfully expressive, the production design is top-notch and the Iranian countryside is gorgeous.
August 7, 2009
Stan Hall
Oregonian
A touching tearjerker that’s also a celebration of traditional values against the dehumanizing tendencies of modern urban life…with even the most obvious moments saved by an underlying sweetness and poignancy.
July 24, 2009 | Rating: B
Frank Swietek
One Guy’s Opinion
Achingly poetic in a way that recalls the Italian neo-realism of The Bicycle Thief.
June 12, 2009
Les Wright
culturevulture.net…
Plot
When an ostrich-rancher focuses on replacing his daughter’s hearing aid, which breaks right before crucial exams, everything changes for a struggling rural family in Iran. Karim motorbikes into a world alien to him – incredibly hectic Tehran, where sudden opportunities for independence, thrill and challenge him. But his honor and honesty, plus traditional authority over his inventive clan, are tested, as he stumbles among vast cultural and economic gaps between his village nestled in the desert, and a throbbing international metropolis.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Reza Naji delivers a superb performance as Karim in The Song of Sparrows.
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