A lyrical and heartbreaking reminder of the human toll of war.
Turtles Can Fly (2005)
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Reviews Counted:68
Fresh:61
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: Set in Iraq after the fall of Saddam, Turtles Can Fly is being hailed as extraordinary, moving, and lyrical.
Theatrical Release:Feb 18, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $213,047
Synopsis: "Turtles Can Fly" is the third feature from internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi ("A Time For Drunken Horses"). Written, directed and produced by Ghobadi, the film features of... "Turtles Can Fly" is the third feature from internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi ("A Time For Drunken Horses"). Written, directed and produced by Ghobadi, the film features of cast of local non-actor children. "Turtles Can Fly" is set in Ghobadi’s native Kurdistan on the eve of the American invasion of Iraq. Thirteen-year-old Soran (Soran Ebrahim) is known as “Satellite,” for his installation of dishes and antennae for local villages looking for news of Saddam. He is the dynamic leader of the children, organizing the dangerous but necessary sweeping and clearing of the minefields. He then arranges trade-ins for the unexploded mines. The industrious Satellite falls for an unlikely orphan (Avaz Latif), a sad-faced girl traveling with her brother Henkov (Hirsh Feyssal), who appears to have the gift of clairvoyance. The siblings are care-taking a three-year-old, whose connection to the pair is discovered as harsh truths are unveiled. The devastation to this land and its inhabitants is revealed in the matter-of-fact perspective of the children and is equally displayed with every poignant detail of its unbearable nature. The exquisitely haunting mountains play backdrop to violence and tragedy, but at the same time the heart and humor of the children is an undeniable force. "Turtles Can Fly" won the Golden Shell at San Sebastian and the Silver Bear at Chicago and is the Iranian entry to the Academy for 2004 Foreign Film consideration. -- © IFC Films [More]
Starring: Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Hirsh Feyssal
Starring: Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Hirsh Feyssal
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Screenwriter: Bahman Ghobadi
Producer: Bahman Ghobadi
Composer: Houssein Alizadeh
Studio: IFC Films
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Reviews for Turtles Can Fly
A grim and less than subtle anti-war piece that doesn't tell us anything we didn't know, but does make it more visual and therefore more immediate than many might wish to see.
A painful blend of the abuses of war (and of dictatorship) and the hope of the Kurdish people for a life free of such abuse.
Too often makes you wish the movie theater was equipped with a fast-forward button.
A story that renders into poetry the sad facts of survival for child victims of war.
Take Peter Pan and his "lost boys" and subject them to the worst realities facing children in wartorn Iraq, and you'll have something of the incongruous mix of whimsy and horror that is Turtles Can Fly.
Turtles Can Fly is an assured piece of artistry and craftsmanship and a pleasure to watch.
You'll see more accomplished films, but you won't see many that have more heartbreaking impact.
With his third effort, Ghobadi has bridged that distance and delivered his most heartbreakingly touching and profoundly humanist film.
...the circumstances of [Turtles Can Fly's] children and Ghobadi's poetic presentation of them cannot fail to move.
A well-made but harrowing and extremely downbeat coming-of-age drama.
A story of wounded children, a devastating reminder of the costs of war.
Ebrahim's expressive eyes and mobile face capture the youth in the act of strategizing.
A tragic yet bittersweet, simple yet spellbinding slice of life's uncertainty...an unpretentious, understated tour de force of Middle Eastern cinema.
I wish everyone who has an opinion on the war in Iraq could see Turtles Can Fly.
[Ghobadi's] use of children in peril ... crosses the uneasy line between realism and overt manipulation. Still, it's impossible to deny the sheer shivery force of the film.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
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| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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