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Turtles Can Fly, 2004

Turtles Can Fly

Kurdish

Iran, France, Iraq

Rating:7.8
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Profile of Turtles Can Fly

Turtles Can Fly can be described as bleak, rough, and clever. The plot revolves around an orphan, anti-war themes, and . The main genres are drama, foreign, and period. In approach, Turtles Can Fly is serious and realistic. The storytelling is slow paced. It is set, at least in part, in a village. Turtles Can Fly is located in Iraq. It takes place during the Gulf War. The movie has received attention for being an award winner and critically acclaimed.

Summary of Turtles Can Fly

The first feature film to emerge from Iraq after the American-led take-down of Saddam Hussein, Bhaman Ghobadi's Turtles Can Fly is a profoundly moving reminder that war spares nobody--not even a child--in its horrid wake. Between the borders of Iran and Turkey, the residents of an Iraqi Kurdistan village wait anxiously for the violent arrival of the United States military. Satellite (Soran Ebrahim) is an ambitious adolescent who organizes the clearing of minefields and helps to install equipment that brings news from the outside world to his sheltered community. Meanwhile, three orphans are wandering aimlessly. Agrin (Avaz Latif) is intent on ditching the helpless three-year-old that she and her armless brother Henkov (Hirsh Feyssal) have been caring for. Henkov has the gift of premonition, yet unfortunately all of his visions point towards a tragic end. As the planes arrive and Saddam is removed from power once and for all, these innocent children must still confront the bleak reality that awaits them.

Casting nonprofessional actors with actual war-inflicted handicaps and deformities, Ghobadi's film breathes with an immediacy that makes it impossible to ignore. The heartbreaking performances of the children only add to the film's power. In refusing to choose a political side and instead taking a humanitarian approach to the subject matter, Ghobadi has delivered a deeply touching condemnation of war that deserves to be seen by audiences all over the world.

Details

Language: Kurdish
Country: Iran, France, Iraq
Release date: 19 October 2004
Runtime: 98 min

Cast and Crew

Soran Ebrahim

as Satellite

Avaz Latif

as Agrin

Hirsh Feyssal

as Hengov

Saddam Hossein Feysal

as Pashow

Photos

Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
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Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Turtles Can Fly (2004)

Clips

Turtles Can Fly
Turtles Can Fly: Official Trailer

Critics Reviews

Variety
Ghobadi in this pic displays a complete command of his art as he shifts between -- and even blends -- wrenching tragedy and amusing comedy.
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  • by: Robert Koehler
Salon.com
Although Turtles Can Fly is a lyrical, often lovely film with touches of humor, it's also a remorseless tragedy that doesn't offer its child protagonists any false redemption.
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  • by: Andrew O'Hehir

Users Reviews

I saw "Turtles Can Fly" in March as part of a Smithsonian film festival. Ghobadi used Kurdish refugee children as his actors, none of whom had any acting training. In the beginning of the movie, they seem a bit hesitant, aware that they're acting in...
  • 17.March.2009
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  • by: atourgates
  • atourgates rated this movie8/10Great
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