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34
10,000 B.C.
55
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62
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36
College Road Trip
xx
Dark Knight, The
31
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41
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57
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67
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54
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49
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34
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57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
xx
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71
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61
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65
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79
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35
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73
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24
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37
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xx
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58
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48
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55
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22
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69
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44
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53
Sex and the City: The Movie
76
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37
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37
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61
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47
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55
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33
Superhero Movie
93
WALL-E
64
Wanted
36
What Happens in Vegas...
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
93
WALL-E
79
Iron Man
76
Shine a Light
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Horton Hears a Who!
69
Redbelt
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
62
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The
61
Stop Loss
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
Mist, The
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
55
Street Kings
55
Nim's Island
55
Baby Mama
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
49
Hancock
48
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
47
Strangers, The
44
Ruins, The
41
Drillbit Taylor
37
Made of Honor
37
Shutter
37
Speed Racer
36
College Road Trip
36
What Happens in Vegas...
35
Jumper
34
Happening, The
34
10,000 B.C.
33
Superhero Movie
31
Deception
24
Love Guru, The
22
Postal
xx
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
xx
Mamma Mia!
xx
Dark Knight, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

83
Alexandra
80
Band's Visit, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
47
Bella
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
59
Blind Mountain
55
Bra Boys
60
Brick Lane
70
Caramel
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
83
Chop Shop
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
78
Counterfeiters, The
52
Diminished Capacity
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
84
Edge of Heaven, The
52
Elsa & Fred
79
Encounters at the End of the World
62
Expired
64
Fall, The
51
Finding Amanda
57
Flawless
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
60
Fugitive Pieces
45
Full Grown Men
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69
Go-Getter, The
74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
68
Heartbeat Detector
34
Holding Trevor
68
Honeydripper
55
Irina Palm
69
Jellyfish
60
Jihad for Love, A
68
Kabluey
62
Kiss the Bride
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
82
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38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
70
Love Songs
64
Married Life
30
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33
Miss Conception
53
Mister Lonely
75
Mongol
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
84
My Winnipeg
61
On the Rumba River
69
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61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83
Paranoid Park
72
Priceless
51
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55
Quid Pro Quo
29
Red Roses and Petrol
79
Reprise
71
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56
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51
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76
Shotgun Stories
66
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70
Standard Operating Procedure
62
Stuck
72
Surfwise
81
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56
Then She Found Me
xx
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71
To the Limit
54
Tracey Fragments, The
70
Trumbo
72
Tuya's Marriage
83
U2 3D
56
Unknown Woman
86
Up the Yangtze
79
Visitor, The
62
Wackness, The
37
War, Inc.
64
Water Lilies
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
55
Without the King
72
Woman on the Beach
64
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
84
My Winnipeg
84
Edge of Heaven, The
83
Chop Shop
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
82
Last Mistress, The
81
Tell No One
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Band's Visit, The
79
Reprise
79
Encounters at the End of the World
79
Visitor, The
78
Counterfeiters, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
76
Shotgun Stories
75
Young@Heart
75
Mongol
74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
72
Woman on the Beach
72
Priceless
72
Tuya's Marriage
72
Surfwise
71
To the Limit
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Roman de gare
70
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Trumbo
70
Love Songs
70
Caramel
69
Go-Getter, The
69
Operation Filmmaker
69
Jellyfish
68
Kabluey
68
Heartbeat Detector
68
Honeydripper
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
66
Son of Rambow
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Married Life
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
64
XXY
64
Water Lilies
64
Fall, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Stuck
62
Expired
62
Wackness, The
62
Kiss the Bride
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
On the Rumba River
60
Fugitive Pieces
60
Brick Lane
60
Jihad for Love, A
59
Blind Mountain
57
Flawless
56
Unknown Woman
56
Then She Found Me
56
Sangre de mi sangre
55
Quid Pro Quo
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
55
Irina Palm
55
Bra Boys
55
Without the King
54
Tracey Fragments, The
53
Mister Lonely
52
Diminished Capacity
52
Elsa & Fred
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
51
Finding Amanda
51
Promotion, The
51
Savage Grace
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Bella
45
Full Grown Men
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
37
War, Inc.
34
Holding Trevor
33
Miss Conception
30
Meet Bill
29
Red Roses and Petrol
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Turtles Can Fly
IFC Films
FILM:
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring
Soran Ebrahim,
Saddam Hossein Feysal,
Avaz Latif,
and
Hiresh Feysal Rahman
This third feature from internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi is set in his native Kurdistan on the eve of the American invasion of Iraq. 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. (IFC Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
Foreign
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Bahman Ghobadi
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Bahman Ghobadi
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: September 20, 2005
Theatrical: February 18, 2005
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
98 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
Iran / Iraq |
| LANGUAGE(S): |
Kurdish (with English subtitles) |
Original title "Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand"

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Superb acting and authentic details energize this rare Iran/Iraq coproduction.

100
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
This isn't a war movie. Rather, it's a powerful, heart-tugging portrait of the innocent victims of conflict.

100
The New Republic
Stanley Kauffmann
Turtles Can Fly, is masterly: it courses before us with grace, a control that paradoxically bespeaks love and anger.

100
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
It is about the actual lives of refugees, who lack the luxury of opinions because they are preoccupied with staying alive in a world that has no place for them.

100
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
It's a soaring achievement, without ever leaving the ground.

100
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Ghobadi shows us a world where a village pond can hold both rare goldfish and unforgivable evil, and where every step is onto booby-trapped terrain.

100
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
One of the most heartbreaking, unforgettable dramas in years.

90
Salon.com
Andrew O'Hehir
Although Turtles Can Fly is a lyrical, often lovely film with touches of humor, it's also a remorseless tragedy that doesn't offer its child protagonists any false redemption.

90
The New Yorker
Anthony Lane
Turtles Can Fly has little space for mawkishness, and the kids are far too cussed to be cute. It is, in every sense, the more immediate achievement: it hits and hurts the eyes (the rainy days are lousy enough, but the skies of royal blue, above such grief, feel especially insulting), and it also seems to bleed straight out of the headlines.

90
Variety
Robert Koehler
Ghobadi in this pic displays a complete command of his art as he shifts between -- and even blends -- wrenching tragedy and amusing comedy.

90
LA Weekly
David Chute
Ghobadi's genius seems supercharged rather than weighed down by his higher calling, and his imagery is so boilingly alive that we come away from it feeling exhilarated rather than depressed.

90
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
It is a heartbreaking film, and cruelty sometimes seems to be not only its subject but its method. Like the child on a high cliff that is one of its recurring images, the film walks up to the edge of hopelessness and pauses there, waiting to see what happens next.

88
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
By the end, Turtles Can Fly becomes a lyrical and heartbreaking reminder of the human toll of war.

88
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Offers a sometimes lyrical, sometimes gut-turning portrait of war seen through the eyes of children.

88
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
A beautiful, intensely moving film.

80
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
All of the actors in Turtles Can Fly are nonprofessionals, and all bring electrifying authenticity and presence to their roles.

80
Chicago Reader
Jim Healy
There's no denying his (Ghobadi's) talent for suspense or his ability to get riveting performances from nonprofessionals.

80
The Hollywood Reporter
Duane Byrge
Heart-wrenching as well as spirit-raising.

80
Village Voice
Jessica Winter
Amid the muddy scrubbery of the camp and its hinterland surroundings, Ghobadi catches some striking compositions.

80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Keith Phipps
Turtles Can Fly creates a haunting reminder that collateral damage can't always be measured in casualty rates, and that it goes on long after the news cameras have left the scene.

80
Newsweek
David Ansen
Powerful images hook you immediately.

80
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
Ghobadi uses the lack of resources and the surfeit of drama that had been the lot of the Kurds throughout Hussein's dictatorship and both Gulf wars much in the way De Sica and Rossellini used the European tragedies of the '30s and '40s,

80
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Ghobadi has little use for sentimentality, and never flinches from the fate of these children.

80
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
A cry of anguish for the youngest victims of every war.
78
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
An emotional triumph.

75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Rick Groen
Not everything here is that vivid or uncluttered. Sometimes, the film betrays the circumstances of its making, shot hastily on location in Iraq after the fall of Saddam just as the extended conflict was beginning.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
Ruthe Stein
Sad yet offering glimpses of hope.

75
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
There's no refuge in this uncomfortably realistic movie, and that is its strength.

67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
A well-made but harrowing and extremely downbeat coming-of-age drama.

63
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
What keeps the picture alive is Ghobadi's surprising, often explosive grasp of visual farce.

42
Entertainment Weekly
Staff (Not credited)
Lacks grace, coherence, and a surface vivid enough to make it an alarm that many will hear.


The average user rating for this movie is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 80 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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