Turtles Can Fly

Name: Turtles Can Fly
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Released: 2005

Synopsis

Turtles can fly tells the story of a group of young children near the Turkey-Iran border. They clean up mines and wait for the Saddam regime to fall.

100
Christian Science Monitor
Superb acting and authentic details energize this rare Iran/Iraq coproduction.
90
The New Yorker
Turtles Can Fly has little space for mawkishness, and the kids are far too cussed to be cute. It is, in every sense, the more immediate achievement: it hits and hurts the eyes (the rainy days are lousy enough, but the skies of royal blue, above such grief, feel especially insulting), and it also seems to bleed straight out of the headlines.
90
Variety
Ghobadi in this pic displays a complete command of his art as he shifts between -- and even blends -- wrenching tragedy and amusing comedy.
90
L.A. Weekly
Ghobadi's genius seems supercharged rather than weighed down by his higher calling, and his imagery is so boilingly alive that we come away from it feeling exhilarated rather than depressed.
90
The New York Times
It is a heartbreaking film, and cruelty sometimes seems to be not only its subject but its method. Like the child on a high cliff that is one of its recurring images, the film walks up to the edge of hopelessness and pauses there, waiting to see what happens next.
80
Chicago Reader
There's no denying his (Ghobadi's) talent for suspense or his ability to get riveting performances from nonprofessionals.
80
The Hollywood Reporter
Heart-wrenching as well as spirit-raising.
80
Village Voice
Amid the muddy scrubbery of the camp and its hinterland surroundings, Ghobadi catches some striking compositions.