As beautifully shot, by cinematographer Shahriar Assadi, as it is sensitively written and directed and wonderfully acted.
Turtles Can Fly (2005)
Tomatometer
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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
The tragedy of these lives is moving, but, to some small extent, the tragedy is counterbalanced by Ghobadi in showing that somehow humanity survives in these kids
Bahman Ghobadi's new drama about Iraq's children of war shows us the scenes lurking behind the headlines and sound bites.
The movie has something to say, but director Bahman Ghobadi hasn't gotten a handle on how he wants to say it, which is why he tries to disguise his movie's blunt messiness with a tricky structure that takes us nowhere.
Turtles is ultimately a bleak, disturbing film. Yet, it’s a portrait that provides a needed break from the rising tide of suffocating media.
Turtles Can Fly is an astonishingly accomplished third feature, the work of a mature and visionary writer-director.
Offers a sometimes lyrical, sometimes gut-turning portrait of war seen through the eyes of children.
Whatever your feelings about the war in Iraq, it's impossible to not be moved by the displaced, maimed and killed children left in the conflict's wake.
Further proof that Ghobadi is one of those great artists that comes forth during his people's time of crisis.
Ghobadi, a native of Iranian Kurdistan who studied under Abbas Kiarostami, delivers a movie that illuminates in different, more subtle ways.
There's no refuge in this uncomfortably realistic movie, and that is its strength.
Ghobadi has little use for sentimentality, and never flinches from the fate of these children.
The youth here are tragic figures as opposed to fully developed characters.
Its sophisticated world-view is a gentle rebuke to provincial views of the world in American cinema.
Bahman Ghobadi's third film presents a harsh account of war, displacement and deprivation that is saved from utter bleakness by a tough, earthy lyricism.
There are limits to this approach, both as a strategy of emotional exploitation and an instrument of political analysis. It is simply too easy to weep over maimed children.
Superb acting and authentic details energize this rare Iran/Iraq coproduction.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 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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