Turtles Can Fly (2004) DVD

The first feature film to emerge from Iraq after the American-led take-down of Saddam Hussein, Bhaman Ghobadi's TURTLES CAN FLY is a profoundly moving reminder that war spares nobody not even a child in its horrid wake. Between the borders of Iran and Turkey, the residents of an Iraqi Kurdistan village wait anxiously for the violent arrival of the United States military. Satellite (Soran Ebrahim) is an ambitious adolescent who organizes the clearing of minefields and helps to install equipment that brings news from the outside world to his sheltered community. Meanwhile, three orphans are wandering aimlessly. Agrin (Avaz Latif) is intent on ditching the helpless three-year-old that she and her armless brother Henkov (Hirsh Feyssal) have been caring for. Henkov has the gift of premonition, yet unfortunately all of his visions point towards a tragic end. As the planes arrive and Saddam is removed from power once and for all, these innocent children must still confront the bleak reality that awaits them. Casting non-professional actors with actual war-inflicted handicaps and deformities, Ghobadi's film breathes with an immediacy that makes it impossible to ignore. The heartbreaking performances of the children only add to the film's power. In refusing to choose a political side and instead taking a humanitarian approach to the subject matter, Ghobadi has delivered a deeply touching condemnation of war that deserves to be seen by audiences all over the world.