This movie was yet another international film that really helped open my eyes to the viewpoints of others in a completely different culture. Living in America, I have always heard and learned about the Iraq war(s) from our perspective so it was very interesting to see it from the perspective of a minority group, the Kurds, who were being directly affected by the war and chaos occurring in their country. Along with being eye opening, this movie was also devastating to watch. The ending made me cry but the whole film was bordering on the edge of making you smile and making you sob. The character called Satellite was probably my favorite because of his concern for all the other children and the way he seemed so positive and optimistic. His love for Agrin was endearing and adorable and definitely added a silver lining to the whole film. His character definitely made me smile; however, when you look at the whole picture of all these orphan children with lost/distorted limbs because they spend their days digging up land mines to make money, it's really enough to make you sob. Overall, I would give this film a 3.5 out of 5 stars. I liked it a lot, but the sadness and horror definitely made me hate some parts of it just because of the pure raw emotion they created. I definitely think this is an important film for Americans of this time to see especially because of our fairly recent constant presence in Iraq.

TURTLES CAN FLY, Viewed at the the 2004 San Sebastian film festival, September 2006. At a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish border, a boy nicknamed "Satellite" is the leader of the kids. Their job is to clear and collect undetonated mines in the fields to sell them in the street market and he installs antennas for the TV sets in village."Turtles Can Fly" is an extremely powerful film by Kurdish-Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi. The title is a bit misleading because, though a turtle does appear for about two seconds near the end, the subject is the abject misery of pitiful war orphans, Kurdish Children, some of them badly mutilated, in a squalid tent camp on the Turkish border where they are fleeing from Sadam's persecution on the eve of the American Invasion. The running time is only 95 minutes but it felt more like 95 hours watching the unbearable suffering and incredible resilience of these beautiful kids, growing up much too fast as victims of war in a situation where death is the common denominator and survival all that really matters. The central figure, a teenage boy, is called "Kak Satellite" because he is a provider of satellite TV sets and acts as a part time interpreter of CNN for the adults, although his English is so limited that his interpretations are mostly imagination. "The Americans are coming any day" is a message of hope he repeats over and over again, but the whole area is sewn with minefields and sudden death lurks at every turn. One of the kids is armless but fights with his head to protect his little sister who is, incidentally, an incredibly beautiful child of eleven with the face of a mature movie star, and has already been raped by marauding Iraqi soldiers. The Americans finally arrive, but whether this will only bring more death, destruction and misery is a very moot question. The film is beautifully shot and these kids are definitely not professional thespians but are rather living out their reality before the cameras. Ghobadi, who is a master at handling kids, gave them a few basic ideas and told them to run with it. The story they "made up" is composed of such grim realities that it is almost too disconcerting to sit through, while at the same time brilliantly engaging. If this one doesn't take the big prize tomorrow, I for one, will be very much surprised.Ps: It won the Concha de Oro palmarès hands down by unanimous jury decision.

Okay, I know what I said about not seeing any war films for the rest of the year... but this is set just BEFORE the Iraq conflict, and it's not even about fighting. So ner.Instead there's some kid nicknamed Satellite, who is in charge of a group of orphaned children who help residents clear mines from their fields... which they then sell on. Well, you've gotta make a living somehow. It's while doing this he meet a traumatised girl, who he develops a crush on. Only trouble is... she has one older brother whose arms have been blown off, and a baby sibling who happens to be blind. Who she has to look after. Alone. Well, you can't choose who you fall in love with...Starting a few weeks before the Yanks landed and ending with the toppling of Saddam's statue, it weaves an intricate tale of damaged lives in a hazardous environment. Even in this precarious place surrounded by poverty and devastation, groups of children bond together in the mutual interest of survival, and every day they dice with death. Satellite, riding around on his bike, loves his young charges and would do anything to protect them. If only all bosses were so considerate...Considering most of these actors are probably non-professional, and there's so many of them, it's amazing how natural they are in front of the camera. Kudos to the makers too, for hiring people with obvious physical impediments... no prosthetics on display here. The plot keeps you watching, though it lacks drama until the very end. I enjoyed it more as a historical piece than a film, but it definitely is worth watching at least once. And no, you never do see any turtles fly. How disappointing... 6/10

Great literature, great film challenges us, provokes us, pulls on our heart, stays in our minds, and haunts us to at least be aware of our world, and those "other" people living in it. The way "Schindler's List" did all of that to me, for me ~ last night came "Turtles Can Fly", a 2004 film about Refugee Camp Kurds living at the Iraq-Turkey Border during the American invasion of Iraq. As the much more eloquent writers here on IMDb have shared, this is not a political movie making statements about America, Turkey, or Iraq...it is a view through children's eyes, living mid-hope, mid-despair. I wanted to look away....and could not. Like the Pulitzer Award-Winning Novel, "Andersonville" by MacKinlay Kantor, which I had to put down at various points, I was held prisoner for 98 minutes by these child actors. When I read afterward that these were real refugee camp children, led in this film by the talented director, I was even more amazed. 16 International Film Critic Awards...one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. Cannot recommend it to anyone who is not willing to be opened up....like a coconut. I say that with a smirk, but also a very deep ache...