“The Color of Paradise” is a fable of a child’s innocence and a complex look at faith and humanity. Visually magnificent and wrenchingly moving, the film tells the story of a boy whose inability to see the world only enhances his ability to feel its powerful forces.

As I watched this stunning film from Iran I had several thoughts. One, be grateful for what you have in life. A work like this really puts Western materialsm in its place. It also made me think how important art is to creating bridges between cultures. This film reveals what a beautiful country Iran is, and what amazing people some of its citizens are.

To make war on a people, they must first be dehumanized. That task becomes much harder to do as the world becomes smaller each day via the sharing of our cultures through art.