PERFECT!

its an amazing experience i tried to bat out my teras but they just simply rolled down my cheeks... the film touches you so deep within that i was thining about it for a week after acctually seeing it.

This movies images and words will haunt me for a very long time... every American should see this.

Well done the BBC for showing this film. It left me emotionally drained but I would like to see more of this director's work now. The children's acting was excellent considering their lack of experience.

Poor quality sub-titles made this disjointed movie too much work to try to follow.

One of the best movies I have ever seen.

It was not an honest movie.

Regardless of your politics, everyone should see this film.

Was Hyenkov (Hirsh Feyssal) psychic before or after he lost his arms? How he uses the power of prophesy in the film's climax is something you'd more likely to see on "The X-Files" than a serious film about Kurdish refugees that "Turtles Can Fly" otherwise is for the rest of its running time. If it wasn't, Agrin (Avaz Latif) would respond to Satellite's advances and detract from the Kurdish people's desperate situation with a love story. But then again, there's the scene in which a small child is put in jeopardy; a tactic that is thought to be a cheap way to work an audience over when the film is American. The outcome should've been different as to reflect the reality of land mines, but the director needs this character to maximize the tragedy of the film's last violent act. In spite of my reservations, to skip "Turtles Can Fly" is to be the sort of American that the world hates. Soran Ebrahim is kind of irritating, but never mind.… Expand

Extremly moving / disturbing in an amazing way.

An instant modern classic Everyone should see this film So people can think twice before going into a war.

One of the best movies ive seen. brutally real.

These children gave a very memorable performance! I just saw this movie last night on cable. Does anyone know if this won any awards? If not, it should have!

I hate this film, it depressing, makes me feel powerless and reminds me that life is not inherently fare or nice. The ending leaves you without hope and never wanting to watch it again. Having said that it is a great piece of film making with amazing acting from a cast of mostly (untrained) children which everyone should see once. If this review sounds schizophrenic that is because of how the film leaves you feeling, I was amazed by the power and honesty of emotion these children produced and scared that it was only a film. It reminds you that pain, suffering and death is always happening even if we choose not to see it. A Note about Tesuque comment: I'd agree that the movie has a "faint undertone of hope" but by the end it's been completely crushed and that is the great tragedy.… Expand

The movie carry you to the awful truth, the invasion to a country or the war are simple horrible. The production is one of the best that I ever see.

True that we can hardly imagine the effects of war on children. But I still find it very very hard to believe that a girl about 13-14 years old would kill a child and commit suicide afterward because of the pain of it all. I cannot deny that the war makes children age much faster. But it is like watching a 13 year old with a middle aged person's mind. Even after considering the horrors in Agrin's past, it is difficult to believe that she would react the way she does in the movie, especially her attitude towards the toddler. Besides, Hengov's clairvoyance introduces a supernatural element into the film. His role has no real significance and no rational explanation. For example, he sees the toddler's death in his dreams, but does not see his own sister committing suicide. Feels like some of the scenes are made with the only intention of making the audience cry. Like when Agrin leaves the toddler tied to a tree in the minefield. Despite of these shortcomings, it is an honest attempt to show the tragedy of war, especially from the point of view of children. Some of the acting performances are too good. Well worth watching.… Expand

An amazing film!

An unflinching look at how children are impacted in an incoherent world torn by war. A testimony to the fact that wars waged because of those in power affects most savagely those who may be wholly unaware of the global forces disrupting their lives. Genuine acting on the part of the children, surreal and haunting imagery. Rather unnecessary and forcedly resorts to the supernatural with a boy who can tell the future. Rather poorly put together as a story, with its symbols a bit too prominent. Overall, excellent, touching.… Expand

I have to admit this is reality story for people how have a gold on them land and they truy to survive by fatal mien had lefted by the most fashist army after war world two . deply i must congerdulate the director for his bbrileant idea.

Writer/Director Ghobadi has done what no American news outlet has even come close to doing (where the war in Iraq is concerned)... He has replaced the anonymity of the Kurdish people with abrupt realism. While It's difficult to watch a film like this one, -- (Certainly, it's not pleasant to contemplate the conditions that must surround one's state of misery) -- every privilged (and yes, we are ALL privileged) American should see this film. Mr. Ghobadi invites his audience not to take sides, but to consider the utter absence of choice in a desperate world. There are no right or wrong decisions facing these orphaned children... but instead the children cope with surviving the most devestatingly sad conditions imaginable. This film sheds critical light onto the otherwise ignored consequences of war. Everyone should see this film.… Expand

Thoughtful, disturbing, and beautiful.

A little unclear about the cause of the problems, but graphic and human about what they are. Warmongers should be strapped down and forced to view this film.

This powerfull movie depicts through the eys and hearts of children the cruelty and dispair of war, while at the same time demonstrating the innate spirit of hope that exists in all children around the world.

Beautiful. Disturbing. Significant.

Who will finance the showing of this on primetime TV? Americans should feel the personal pain of war.

Real, irritating, shocking.....

The best movie I have seen in my life!!! WOW!

Great movie. shows that how horribe life is and how still love makes a difference. this was the only reason to go to war.

This movie really shows what we on the outside don't see, feel or realise. I takes us into the pain that this children have been through. And it hurts to see a beautiful Kurdish girl going through emotional pain, and all the other children hurting physically and emotionally. A great movie.

Turtles can Fly is a strange movie. It doesn't follow a real storyline, it just shows the life of the kids, and that causes a lack of continuity which can get sometimes boring. It's shocking to see the life of those poor kids, and sadly, those things DO happen in real life. Until the ending, the movie deserved a 9/10 in my opinion, but the last part is awful. I can't tolerate that, it's too much for me. That turns from being a beautiful movie which shows the reality to an almost horror movie about a mad girl with mental problems, something that I really disliked.… Expand

This movie is way out of our league. [***SPOILERS***] And the talent of these kids is unreal -- even accounting for the fact that you can't tell if they've got the proper cadence. Besides, their powers spike twice as high when they're saying nothing at all.

Intelligent, articulate and exquisitely somber. This movie shows a sad product of war: orphans and how entire societies lose future productivity thanks to personal mines.

This is the best movie I have ever seen. I can't believe the pain that these children go through. The images from the film keep running through my head. I think everyone should see this movie.

Outsstanding movie. It offers an unflinching look at the tragedy of war--it is harsh and stark and sad--the kind of movie I sometimes cannot bring myself to watch. Yet this one captured me from the opening scene. It has wonderfully comic moments, and a faint undertone of hope that make it very powerful.

An amazing film. Very well directed- I had to watch every minute. I don't think I would want to watch it again. It is disturbing and raw. One is affected, it isn't something one forgets about. Days later you're still pondering the possibilities. I don't think most Americans (outside of the US armed forces) have any idea of the impact of war in the Middle East. This film humanizes war, but is not preachy or overly political. The children are fantastic actors. I adored the child who was so faithful to Sattelite, who always got slapped by the elders. I felt that the ending gave you some hope, just to snatch it away five minutes later. It left me emotionally drained.… Expand

Moving... Disturbing I would have liked to have let my children watch it with me, but they'd soon tire of the subtitles. The child-actors are brilliant. This is their reality, and it bites hard. The images will stew in my mind for weeks to come.

Terribly eye opening.

The best film in the worl

This is one of the most intense and moving films I've ever seen. I saw it several days ago and its images keep coming back to me. Worthwhile but very sad.

This movie captures the other worldly quality of the experience of war from the perspective of its victoms.

Bush should see this movie.

An incredible film. A window to a terrifying reality that we refuse to see. This is what we should be watching in the news. Too bad Bush wont see it.

The most stunning movie i have ever seen.

Incredible. People were weeping openly in the theatre here in New York. some scenes are so painful you can't bear to watch the screen.

I found this movie to be so very tragic. and so very true to life , the children where great in it. the director knows his stuff.(you big movie tycoons need to give this cat a chance)

Hate it and love it at the same time. It is greatly done, but it is so shocking, so brutally disturbing that I would never, EVER see it again. It stays in your mind for days, even weeks, and you may even shake every time you remember its ending.

A few days back, I watched Turtles Can Fly, a Kurdish film by the Irani filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi. I was left speechless. The film is set in a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq. The name of the film has a beautiful story of its own. Ghobadi was shooting an underwater sequence, when a turtle glided across his field of view, its tiny appendages flapping swiftly but effortlessly, carrying the great weight of its shell. That turtle reminded him of his people, the Kurds, how the burden of generations of migration and genocide clung to them. His film depicted utter hopelessness, but truth has to be told. The trauma of war has been an issue much covered in cinema, but in this film, we are shown the impact that it has on those who are most innocent of all- the children. War from an innocent perspective; yet not a dark comedy- this film has a lot to offer. This also reveals another aspect of this film- the adults in the film are shown as the scared lot. They are always shown hiding, squeaking in their houses; following orthodox practices. It leaves you in a land where war can be smelled, where destruction is not a new addition to the inhabitant’s menu. The adults being dormant, while the kids are enthusiastic is totally justified. Prior to this, Schindler’s List, Life is Beautiful and a selected handful unforgettable films had also fearlessly covered this nightmarish, inhumane aspect of war. This film hits hard enough to be called a masterpiece. After these 1 hr 37 minutes of brainwash, I stared blankly at the screen for fifteen minutes, amidst a state of pure, and surprisingly prolonged, emotional helplessness. I felt like loosing something… I felt the pain of lost innocence.… Expand