Turtles Can Fly
Encyclopedia
Turtles Can Fly Kurdish
: Kûsî Jî Dikarin Bifirin) is a 2004
film
written and directed
by the Kurdish Iran
ian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi
, with notable theme music composed by Hossein Alizadeh
. It was the first film to be made in Iraq
after the fall of Saddam Hussein
.
refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish
border on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq
. Thirteen-year-old Satellite (Soran Ebrahim) is known for his installation of dishes and antennae
for local villages who are looking for news of Saddam Hussein
and for his limited knowledge of English
. He is the dynamic, but manipulative leader of the children, organizing the dangerous but necessary sweeping and clearing of the minefields
.
The industrious Satellite arranges trade-ins for unexploded mines. He falls for an orphan named Agrin (Avaz Latif), a sad-faced girl traveling with her disabled, but smart brother Hengov, who appears to have the gift of clairvoyance
. The siblings care for a blind toddler whom is later revealed to be the son of Agrin and an unknown American soldier who raped the girl.
. The film however, has been criticized by many, including well-known left wing intellectuals like Tariq Ali
, who say that despite a beautiful story line, the film is one-sided and seems to support the American invasion of Iraq
. Significantly, the film is silent about what happens to 'Satellite' after the Americans finally land in their refugee camp. Other critics believe that the film reflects the true sentiment of Iraqi Kurds, many of whom suffered greatly under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and strongly supported the US military invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
: Kûsî Jî Dikarin Bifirin) is a 2004
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by the Kurdish Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi
Bahman Ghobadi
Bahman Ghobadi is an Iranian film director of Kurdish ethnicity. He was born on February 1, 1969 in Baneh, Kurdistan Province. Ghobadi belongs to the so called "new wave" of Iranian cinema.-Biography:...
, with notable theme music composed by Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Alizadeh , is an Iranian composer, radif-preserver, researcher, teacher, and tar and setar instrumentalist and improviser, described by Allmusic as a leading Iranian classical composer and musician....
. It was the first film to be made in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
after the fall of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
.
Plot
The film is set in a KurdishKurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
border on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Thirteen-year-old Satellite (Soran Ebrahim) is known for his installation of dishes and antennae
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
for local villages who are looking for news of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and for his limited knowledge of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. He is the dynamic, but manipulative leader of the children, organizing the dangerous but necessary sweeping and clearing of the minefields
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
.
The industrious Satellite arranges trade-ins for unexploded mines. He falls for an orphan named Agrin (Avaz Latif), a sad-faced girl traveling with her disabled, but smart brother Hengov, who appears to have the gift of clairvoyance
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
. The siblings care for a blind toddler whom is later revealed to be the son of Agrin and an unknown American soldier who raped the girl.
Criticism
The film has a 90% rating of positive reviews on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. The film however, has been criticized by many, including well-known left wing intellectuals like Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali , , is a British Pakistani military historian, novelist, journalist, filmmaker, public intellectual, political campaigner, activist, and commentator...
, who say that despite a beautiful story line, the film is one-sided and seems to support the American invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Significantly, the film is silent about what happens to 'Satellite' after the Americans finally land in their refugee camp. Other critics believe that the film reflects the true sentiment of Iraqi Kurds, many of whom suffered greatly under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and strongly supported the US military invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Soran Ebrahim | Satellite |
| Avaz Latif | Agrin cantik |
| Hiresh Feysal Rahman | Hengov |
| Abdol Rahman Karim | Riga |
| Saddam Hossein Feysal | Pashow |
| Ajil Zibari | Shirkooh |
Awards
- Glass Bear, Best Feature Film and Peace Film Award, Berlin International Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalThe Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, 2005. - Golden Seashell, Best Film, San Sebastián International Film FestivalSan Sebastián International Film FestivalThe San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
, 2004. - Special Jury Award, Chicago International Film FestivalChicago International Film FestivalThe Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
, 2004. - International Jury and Audience Awards, São Paulo International Film Festival, 2004.
- La Pieza Award, Best Film, Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival, 2005.
- Audience Award, Rotterdam International Film Festival, 2005.
- Golden Prometheus, Best Film, Tbilisi International Film Festival, 2005.
- Aurora Award, Tromsø International Film Festival, 2005.
- Golden Butterfly, Isfahan International Festival of Films for Children, 2004.
- Gold Dolphin, Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival, 2005
- Sundance Selection 2005
- Silver Skeleton Award Harvest Moonlight Festival 2007
External links
- Turtles Can Fly at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- An extract with music
- Review by Robert Koehler, VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
. - Review by Maria Garcia, Film Journal International.
- Review by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post.
- Review by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times.
- Review by Anthony Lane, The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. - Review by Carina Chocano, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
. - Review by A. O. Scott, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. - Review by Nick Schager, Slant MagazineSlant MagazineSlant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
. - Review by Jessica Winter, Village Voice.
- Review by Peter Bradshaw, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. - Review by Ruthe Stein, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
. - Review by Jason Anderson, Eye WeeklyEye WeeklyEye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid.-...
, Toronto.