Search - Turtles Can Fly on DVD

Leslie E. from SAINT LOUIS, MO
Reviewed on 7/10/2011...

Excellent!!! The DVD I received is in English subtitles - just as a head-up - I know this is a deal breaker for some people. Incredible movie!!

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Suzanne Y. from BINGHAMTON, NY
Reviewed on 9/15/2009...

One of the best movcies I've ever seen. even my 23 y.o. son liked it. The "actor" kids are incredible, the story affecting, an all-around very special work.

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Children as the Microcosm of the War on Iraq: An Astonishing

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 10/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand' (TURTLES CAN FLY) takes your breath away. Not only is the story by writer/director Bahman Ghobadi timely, it is one of the most devastatingly real examinations of the people of Iraq in the days before the American preemptive attack: it is more real because the entire story is told through the eyes of children.

The action takes place in Kurdistan, Iraq at the Turkish border. The temporary refugee camp in the hills is occupied by children who make money by gathering live mines and used shells from the military conditions under Saddam Hussein's rule. They struggle to make deals for a satellite dish so that they can provide coverage of the war for the elders (they are not allowed to watch Hussein's forbidden channels!), they form rival groups for the monetary aspects of weapons gathering, and they rely on a leader by the name of Satellite (Soran Ebrahim) who appears to be the oldest of the children. His 'associates' are the crippled boy Pashow (Saddam Hossein Feysal) able to run as fast as even Satellite on a bicycle with just one leg and a crutch; Shirkooh (Ajil Zibari) whose tears flow easily; Hengov (Hiresh Feysal Rahman) who lost his arms to the land mines and has the ability to foresee the future; and the mysterious Agrin (Avaz Latif) the sole girl who with Hengov is caring for a blind two year orphan Riga (Abdol Rahman Karim).

The children, all orphans, are on the watch for war they know will come, watch and listen for the Americans to arrive, and struggle for survival under Satellite's organized control. Agrin wishes to escape it all, pleads with Hengov to return to their home, but Hengov will not leave the child Riga. As the tension mounts tragedies occur, touching all of the children. But the manner in which the children finally observe as Hussein's statue topples and as the American troops distribute 'hopeful' fliers from helicopters, events bringing an end to their temporary refuge camp status, is heart-wrenchingly portrayed.

The film is full of passion. The young 'actors' are splendid: how Ghobadi found such children to play tough parts in such a wholly naturalistic way is a true feat of genius. This is a powerful, disturbing, yet ultimately beautiful film that deserves everyone's close attention. In Kurdish with English subtitles. Highly recommended! Grady Harp, October 05
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Trapped between Iraq and a hard (Turkish) place

Chapulina R | Tovarischi Imports, USA/RUS | 05/20/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"On the eve of the American invasion of Iraq, Kurdish refugees wait with hope and trepidation. Hope, because they have suffered so much under Saddam, trepidation because their liberation promises little improvement. Thirteen year old "Satellite", so called for his expertise installing satellite dishes, is the boss of the refugee children. Most are orphans, many are crippled by the mines which they dig up to sell to the U.N. Life is very hard and uncertain; for sport, the boldest boys taunt the Turkish soldiers manning the border posts. Satellite genuinely cares for his "kids", but has a rivalry with the "Armless Boy," a newcomer to the camp and seemingly a psychic. However, he finds the Armless Boy's pretty sister intriguing. The girl, Agrin, is aloof and haunted by horrific memories, and is not interested in Satellite. Eventually, the US forces arrive. There is no anti-American sentiment in this film, but neither are the Americans portrayed as heroic liberators. In fact, they seem oblivious to the Kurds. The images of the tanks rumbling through the villages, the grim-faced, armed soldiers jogging past the ragged, barefoot urchins are almost surreal. The refugees' hectic life continues uninterrupted by their presence. Agrin's personal drama culminates in the horror foreshadowed at the film's start. "Turtles Can Fly" has its moments of humor but it is not a feel-good film, and the fates of the characters will leave you disturbed. I recommend this film because it is a timely portrayal of current events and an intimate look into a mostly unknown culture. The joint Iraqi-Iranian film features English subtitles.

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A haunting tale of war, loss, and society's marginalized

Veggiechiliqueen | 10/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Turtles can Fly" is a drama set in Kurdistan (on the Turkey-Iraq border) shortly before the Americans invade Iraq in 2003. Satellite is the ringleader of the refugee camp's hoards of orphaned children, who earn a meager living picking live landmines out of fields. Many are missing hands, arms, or legs. At the beginning of the film, the town's villagers are trying to install ancient antennas to catch word of when the war will begin, but Satellite rightly predicts that only a satellite dish will work for picking up foreign channels. Satellite's sidekick Pashow has lost a leg to the mines, and hobbles frantically behind Satellite, trying to keep up as he barks orders to assign his "workers" to new mine fields. The children sell the mines to arms dealers, who sell them to the UN.

We soon meet Agrin and Hengov, brother and sister, who are displaced and live in the refugee camp. Their parents were murdered by the Iraqi army, and tagging along with them is their little brother Riga, who, although blind, is a very intelligent, sensitive toddler. Hengov has lost both arms to a mine, and works alone, not talking to the other village and refugee children. It is said that he has the ability to predict the future. His beautiful, haunted, suicidal sister begrudgingly cares for Riga, who she lets wander away at night. Satellite is attracted to Agrin, attempting to impress her by carrying water for her, diving into a haunted pond to look for red fish, and telling her that he's been looking for a girl like her all his life, but she just walks away, back to the misery of her tent and her lot in life.

The war eventually reaches the town, and we see American troops rumbling through, but more and more tragedy occurs to the most defenseless: the children, living in mud-soaked, filthy camps, who spend their days picking through shell casings and unexploded land mines.

The ending is stark and powerful, and director Ghobadi blends mysticism with gritty realism, the young cast all non-professional actors. His distrust of the West is portrayed in scenes that show "forbidden channels" on the satellite, music videos and such from Germany, and the inaccurate reporting from CNN. When the village elders try to force Satellite to translate, he just says "they're saying it will rain tomorrow," but later in the film, we find that he does know a bit of English and inadvertently teaches it to the other children.

This is a film full of disturbing images: violence, rape, maiming and suicide of children, so sensitive viewers beware. It is slow to start off, but is an ultimately rewarding journey of the horrors of war and the fate of the marginalized, orphaned children that war produces.
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