Majidi takes his time to reach the inevitable crisis where Hashem is confronted by his duties not only as a parent but a human being, but the time getting there is fairly well-spent. While he drives home the point of Mohammed's good nature a bit too hard (I could've done without the scene where he takes a fallen baby bird and puts it back in its nest), the sight of the Northern Iran countryside is stunning; thanks to Mohammad Davoodi's breathtaking photography, it's easy to see the colors of paradise. All this is just a prelude to the grabber of a final shot, a simple image that is haunting in its ambiguity. Similarly, the entire film is memorable in its sweet simplicity.