Turtles Can Fly (Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand) poster & wallpaper
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Soran Ebrahim, Hirsh Feyssal, Avaz Latif, Saddam Hossein Feysal, Abdol Rahman Karim

Turtles Can Fly, written and directed by Bahman Ghobadi (Marooned in Iraq, A Time for Drunken Horses) takes place in the days leading up to America's second war against Iraq, in a small village and re... read more read more...fugee camp on the border of Iraq and Turkey. Soran Ebrahim stars as Satellite, a boy nicknamed for his obsession with technology. Satellite is also obsessed with the United States, and sprinkles bits of English throughout his speech. His strong personality and his resourcefulness have made him a leader among the younger children in the village. He even convinces the village elders to trade in their radios and purchase a satellite dish so they can watch news broadcasts on the upcoming war. Tension mounts as the village waits to hear when the U.S. will invade. For his part, Satellite finds himself smitten with an orphan girl, Agrin (Avaz Latif), who wanders into the refugee camp with her armless older brother, Henkov (Hirsh Feyssal), and a little boy who is nearly blind. Henkov earns a meager living clearing minefields, like Satellite, so Satellite sees him, at first, as a rival. But his earnest desire to help Agrin eventually extends to her family. Satellite and his friends find moments of joy amid the chaos and destruction, but Agrin seems haunted by past events too painful to reconcile, and her brother Henkov derives no pleasure from his seeming ability to predict the future. Turtles Can Fly was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2005 as a part of the Film Comment Selects series. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Flixster Users

92% liked it

8,335 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

71 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 38 min.

Directed by: Bahman Ghobadi

Release Date: February 17, 2005

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DVD Release Date: September 20, 2005

Stats: 840 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (840)

  • bbcfloridabound
    April 22, 2010
    bbcfloridabound
    Best film I have seen in a long time, Involves the boarder of Iraq, Iran and Turkey\, where homeless children are trying to survive. One Young man is the head of everything, he wheels and deals in everything. These children get paid for digging land mines. A very interesting film... read more that all should see. Nothing less then 5 stars.
  • DrZeek
    November 24, 2006
    DrZeek
    An interesting story about Iraqi kids living in a refugee camp on the border of Turkey anticipating the Iraq War and hoping for the fall of Sadaam. The kid actors are actually refugees and improvised a lot of scenes, so it is neat and effective. The story itself can be depressing... read more, but it is well made and shows a different side of a conflict.
  • gator681
    May 25, 2005
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Turtles Can Fly" starts out in a Kurdish refugee camp on the border of Iraq and Turkey, just before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. One kid nicknamed Satellite, for his technical proficiency, is about the only youngster not only fully intact but als... read moreo wearing glasses and riding a bicycle. He is helping to install television antennae, so village elders can watch news of the impending invasion but not any prohibited channels. Eventually, they get around to installing a satellite dish.(All that trouble just to watch the Fox New Channel!) Satellite also keeps the other children of the camp employed in the ever so risky business of mine sweeping. Along comes a child with no arms but with the apparent ability to predict the future.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Turtles Can Fly" is perfectly good when it sticks to the absurdism of the situation and the powerful realism of the tragic children but it derails when it slips into mysticism. Overall, this is a fair movie but it misses the mark of making a greater statement. [/font]
  • crazydannielle16
    October 21, 2008
    crazydannielle16
    This is a magnificent movie. Compelling, eye-opening, and unforgetable.
  • fb100001139666279
    November 13, 2011
    fb100001139666279
    A prospect of war very good, good performances and good "drama"
  • mvieaddict
    March 18, 2009
    mvieaddict
    Set in Ghobadi's native Kurdistan, close to the Turkey-Iran border. Soran is a 13-year-old boy who orders other children around as he installs an antenna for villagers keen to hear of Saddam's fall. Eventually, he falls for Agrin but is disturbed by her brother Henkov, who was le... read moreft armless after he stepped on a landmine and who can now seemingly predict the future.

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    In this movie we are shown the impact that war has on those who are most innocent of all, the children. The orphaned children are a range of interesting characters presented to us here, from Satellite, a tv programmer to Pashow, an armless but still determined boy. The supporting children are shown as bright eyed watchers of war, eagerly awaiting it so that they can try their hand at the missiles, which, at first sounds amusing, but then it goes into something much more horrific, as we follow their adventures through rough camera-work and improvised dialogue.

    The performances delivered by the children are simply amazing. In the lead, Soran Ebrahim is a boy full of energy, and he grasp my heart, and makes the heart wrenching part of the movie.

    In a completely different role, Avaz Latif is the movie's heartbreak, and the one that endures the worst. Her performance is wordless, but she manages to portray all her deepest emotions through a look or gesture. When we look deeper into the plot to realize exactly how much her character has suffered, it is then that the horror of war kicks in.

    Turtles Can Fly is not one for the easily depressed. After watching it, I was in tears for several minutes, helpless and wishing that something could be done about the constant loss of innocence. Turtles is a film that speaks for itself; no advertising needed.

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  • ileo
    December 26, 2007
    ileo
    An amazing film.
  • fsandoval77
    August 16, 2010
    fsandoval77
    Great film... whithout special effects and famous actors but with a great history about the darkness of the war and how the people survives in the other side of the world.
  • nusratismyelvis
    October 17, 2008
    nusratismyelvis
    this movie felt very real. the characters were true to life and the situations were too. a modern tragedy.
  • WrellikW
    July 6, 2008
    WrellikW
    Foreign, Kurdish. A pretty good movie! This movie shows you things, that you don't think about during war. About a boy that tries to maintain order, for a group of orphans during war and sees the girl of his dreams and what he goes through to sway her affections. The end is a... read more middle-eastern ending, which doesn't translate to well to western cultures, but a good movie is a good movie and I liked it! I would recommend it.

View All Turtles Can Fly (Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Ann Hornaday
September 26, 2005
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

Despite its fanciful title, Turtles Can Fly leads viewers into a slough of despond, one in which not just hope is strangled but virtually any possibility for simple human kindness. Full Review

Roger Moore
June 24, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Riveting, depressing and eye-opening, Turtles Can Fly is a movie about an Iraq that the news hasn't shown us. Full Review

Susan Walker
April 22, 2005
Susan Walker, Toronto Star

A story that renders into poetry the sad facts of survival for child victims of war. Full Review

Ty Burr
April 22, 2005
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

relentless, bleakly funny, thoroughly remarkable drama Full Review

Robert Denerstein
April 22, 2005
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

You'll see more accomplished films, but you won't see many that have more heartbreaking impact.

Michael O'Sullivan
April 21, 2005
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

It's a soaring achievement, without ever leaving the ground. Full Review

Ruthe Stein
April 15, 2005
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle

Ebrahim's expressive eyes and mobile face capture the youth in the act of strategizing. Full Review

Roger Ebert
April 14, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I wish everyone who has an opinion on the war in Iraq could see Turtles Can Fly. Full Review

Michael Wilmington
April 14, 2005
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

As beautifully shot, by cinematographer Shahriar Assadi, as it is sensitively written and directed and wonderfully acted. Full Review

Melinda Ennis
April 7, 2005
Melinda Ennis, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Bahman Ghobadi's new drama about Iraq's children of war shows us the scenes lurking behind the headlines and sound bites. Full Review

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