lilopez Really liked this movie although I did not know what the main idea or plot of the movie was suppose to be. However, I do know the focused of the movie was on Kurdish children during a war. There did not seem to be many parents present throughout the film. There were adults but none of them were parent figures. A lot of the kids listened to Satellite, one of the older kids in the group. Satellite was the one to watch over the kids and make sure that they eat something. In this movie a lot of the kids were crippled in some type of way. However, that did not stop them from their daily tasks. The kids are still very active even with their deformities. Even though I liked Turtles can Fly, Agrin's family situation was depressing, but it also added a lot of depth to the story. I also liked how they don't tell you exactly what happens but they let you figure it out as the movie progresses.

Theo Robertson This film had a lot to live up to. It is the very first feature film to be filmed after the overthrow of the Saddam regime. On top of that it is directed by the Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi whose previous film I saw was MAROONED IN IRAQ , a film that whilst noble left me with the feeling of close but no cigar. I have to confess from what I've seen of Iranian New Wave I'm not really a fan of the movement but will confess that I've never been a fan of the Italian Neorealist movement that inspired it but TURTLES CAN FLY has had almost universal praise and being set in Iraqi Kurdistan , a place I have visited and a place that treated me as an all conquering hero despite doing absolutely nothing heroic over there I thought I'd owe it to both Kurdistan and myself to watch it Certainly from the opening scene your expectations are raised and seems radically different from other realist films from the region . A young girl stands on the edge of a cliff and non diagetic music plays , music being played over a scene isn't something associated with cinematic realism . As the story continues we're introduced to the characters which are exclusively children - and a cast of non professional actors - who stand in a refugee camp between the Iraqi border with Turkey One thing the film does do fairly well is give an international audience what life is like for the Kurds from the period . Where's all the adults you ask ? Buried in mass graves by Arab Ba'athists probably and the vast majority of them were alive and kicking before the earth got bulldozed on top of them. It also touches upon other bits of darker Kurdish rural culture such as blood feuds etc and perhaps best of all lives up to the Kurdish mantra that "The only friends we (The Kurds) have are the mountains" . However I did find it all rather uninvolving which is surprising given the topic . Possibly it might all be down to the fact that the last film I saw was CRIMSON GOLD which is an exceptional film from the Iranian New Wave

NicTheStoryteller This is the film I wish I could force the right people in the right positions of power to watch. Seen by the right people I believe it could wield the same impact it had on me on them.Don't read too many reviews, just watch this film and be thankful filmmakers as brave as Ghobadi exist to challenge the world in the way he does.Brave. On a different level. I love Iranian filmmakers.After watching this film I had a long and intense love affair with Iranian film. I admire any artist who can create something out of nothing, which Iranian artists do. Watch this film, pass it on, change the world.

vks_vishwa Such movies raise the bar beyond the best. You cannot imagine the kind of acting done by the kids, the picturization done and the storyline sequentially made. Its a story about refugees and orphans living their lives under the clouds of war. People not having access to electricity, food and money. These kids find their own means to survive in such situations. It includes the life of a kid leading the whole pack being the only guy knowing a bit of English and TV operations, handful in understanding the news to the village people. A guy and his sister, only persons left from the Turkish war. Many other kids and situation fall in place. The beauty of narration cannot be expressed in words. It has to be felt through words. Its a must watch movie. Please go, watch and experience the beauty of a new different world that may never be lived or experienced by us.