Character Relationship Map: Sun Children

Characters

• Ali's Mother (played by Tannaz Tabatabaei) — supporting
• Ali (played by Roohollah Zamani) — supporting

  Ali is one of the central boys, balancing school with street work, family difficulties, and illegal jobs. He sells small goods, helps organize risky operations, and becomes deeply invested in the rumo...

• Mamad (played by Mahdi Mousavi) — supporting

  Mamad is one of Ali's friends, involved in the boys' efforts to earn money outside school. He is pressured to go to the port with a dubious employer, showing how economic hardship and dangerous adults...

• The Teacher (played by Babak Lotfi Khajepasha) — supporting

  The Teacher supports Ali, Abolfazl, Reza, and the other troubled pupils by encouraging them in mathematics, science, and language lessons despite their disruptions and fights. The Teacher helps reveal...

• Abolfazl (played by Abolfazl Shirzad) — supporting

  Abolfazl is one of the working boys who joins Ali and the others in risky activities while trying to remain connected to school. An adult suspects him during an illicit operation, but he escapes. In c...

• Reza (played by Mani Ghafouri) — supporting

  Reza is one of the boys involved in the treasure plan beneath or near the school. After someone recognizes his football ability, he receives a chance to join a club and hopes it may lead him to the na...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Ali's Mother → Ali (mother)
• Mamad → The Teacher (Professional Student) — The Teacher represents an educational alternative to Mamad's exploitative work pressures.

  Mamad is among the boys receiving access to school lessons, books, and meals despite being pulled toward dangerous work.

• Reza → The Teacher (Professional Student) — Their relationship reflects the school's attempt to support Reza's development.

  Reza attends the school where The Teacher supports the boys' lessons and tries to keep them engaged in education.

• Abolfazl → The Teacher (Professional Student) — The Teacher recognizes Abolfazl's practical intelligence in the classroom.

  The Teacher encourages Abolfazl, and Abolfazl impresses the class by recognizing construction and tile-work patterns from his labor experience.

• Ali → The Teacher (Professional Student) — The Teacher tries to keep Ali engaged with education despite his unstable life.

  The Teacher encourages the boys in mathematics, science, and language lessons, including when they disrupt class.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Abolfazl → Reza (Alliance Teammate) — They cooperate within the group before Reza changes direction.

  Abolfazl and Reza participate in the boys' shared activities and the discussions about opening locked cages and finding treasure.

• Mamad → Reza (Alliance Teammate) — Their connection is primarily based on group cooperation.

  Mamad and Reza are part of the group involved in school life, street work, and discussions surrounding the rumored treasure.

• Mamad → Abolfazl (Alliance Teammate) — They share membership in the group handling risky jobs.

  Mamad and Abolfazl are included among the boys balancing school with street work and vehicle-related tasks.

• Ali → Reza (Social Friend) — Their friendship is rooted in shared plans and group activities.

  Ali and Reza participate in the boys' discussions about the tunnel and rumored treasure.

• Ali → Abolfazl (Alliance Teammate) — Ali and Abolfazl are connected through the boys' risky activities and mutual concern.

  Abolfazl escapes from an adult with the others, and Ali later becomes increasingly anxious about Abolfazl.

• Ali → Mamad (Alliance Teammate) — They belong to the same group of boys navigating dangerous informal work.

  Ali and his friends handle street work and illegal jobs, while Mamad is pressured into work connected with the port.

Story Analysis

A group of boys struggles between dangerous informal work, fragile educational hope, friendship, and uncertain futures.

Plot Progression

1. Streets Before Lessons — The boys begin with dangerous street operations, small-goods selling, vehicle tasks, and pressure from unsafe work. Their school life exists beside these risks rather than replacing them.
2. A Fragile Classroom Hope — School exposes the boys to lessons, meals, books, and a teacher who recognizes their abilities. Their unstable lives nevertheless keep pulling them back toward work and danger.
3. The Treasure Beneath — A tunnel and rumored treasure create a new shared objective involving locked cages, padlocks, and acid. The boys imagine keeping the discovery for themselves.
4. Football Or Friendship — Reza receives a football opportunity that may lead toward the national team and abandons the treasure plan. Ali interprets this choice as betrayal, turning cooperation into confrontation.
5. An Uncertain Bell — The school faces financial, administrative, and electrical problems while Ali worries about Abolfazl and seeks answers. The film closes with the treasure and the boys' futures unresolved.