The Painting Pool
Where: Parkside Hotel
When: Tonight, 7:15
Rating: 4/5 stars
Appearances can be deceiving, which is certainly the case with Iranian filmmaker Maziar Miri’s lovely, heart-rending drama about an affectionate, mentally challenged couple whose “normal” son Soheil, now in the fourth-grade, becomes so frustrated by their limitations he unwittingly hurts their feelings by spending an increasing amount of time at the home of his teacher’s son.
Miri’s film is not merely a portrait of a family living with developmental disability. Beautifully photographed and well-acted, it’s a sensitively executed meditation on familial love and parental appreciation, and how it’s something we take for granted in our busy society.
While Soheil’s loving parents, workers in a pharmaceutical company’s packaging department, are challenged by tasks others can routinely accomplish — such as walking across a busy street, or making a simple pizza — they bestow on their child a level of love and attention many can only wish for. This is a film that will make you want to hug your kids and re-evaluate why your own priorities have changed over time.
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