Purely Joyful Movie!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Turtles can fly was a very funny film, with kids running everything at all times. I really liked this film, mainly just because the kids were such amazing actors. The character, Satellite, played such a strong role in the film, and everyone in the camp, including adults, seemed to listen to whatever he had to say. I was always curious why, but i'm pretty sure it was because he was very good at setting up satellites, and getting TV for others. Hence the name, Satellite. This film had kids disassembling mines, showing me this film was not American. In America, we make sure to keep mines out of harm's way, rather than just having them out in the open. The kids would sell the disassembled mines to people in the town, and trade them for weapons to fight in the war. In America no one would legally sell a 13 year old a gun. In this film, I noticed that a lot of these kids had birth defects such as, Clubfoot, blindness, and a kid born without arms. These kids parents probably were exposed so some kind of chemical that made them have birth defects, or these kids parents were not taking care of their bodies while they were pregnant. This really made me appreciate the health care in America, because we have doctors constantly checking up on us making sure we're okay. In Iraq, they don't have present doctors on call whenever they need them, like we do. In the ending of this move, Satellites love, Argin, commits suicide because she could not take her life anymore. I don't think I would make any drastic changes to the ending because it leave us not worried about this character so much. Should she have committed suicide? No, but she couldn't seem to look past her current life, and decided that it was better if she stayed out of others too. The one thing that I would change is I wish that the director added someone, at the end, who fed the boys with no arms. Sense Argin is now dead, he was left stranded, and I worry about him. I now don't know how he is going to eat.

Wow , this is some truly powerful film making . The children were directed masterfully , I felt like (for the most part) that they were entirely convincing conveying their emotions and this is most likely down to the fact of the matter that they actually have been affected by this war in some way or another . Aside from a slight pacing issue in the 2nd act , this is an excellent but devastating story . Turtles Can Fly really does show the affects of war through children's perspectives tremendously well . Fantastic shot composition and cinematography juxtaposing the bleak , dry landscape of Iraq with remains of USA manufactured be vehicles and technology. Pictures can speak 1000 words and this film really proves that . Real genuine moments of humane actions , this film never feels overly sentimental or preachy , best described as a Hirokazu Koreeda film set in Iraq.

An eye opening, depressing and amazing movie showing the human cost of war, as depicted by the harrowing existence of Kurdish refugees and orphans living near the Iraq-turkey border on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq.This award winning "staged" documentary is a tough go, but the performances from all the children are pretty mind blowing and you can't help but get caught up in their day to day existence.The movie follows one boy known as "Satellite" who seemingly runs the whole show at the camp; wheeling and dealing and organizing everything including the purchase of a satellite dish, weapons for the village elders, and setting up work details for the other children which often includes digging for land mines and comments like this from potential employers; "Most of these kids don't even have hands how can they work for me?" We also learn the past of a young girl, her blind baby and armless brother -who is apparently able to see the future. Their story is the most maddening and heartbreaking. 02.09.14

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.