Because Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi uses non-actor children in this movie, the viewer is given a sense of watching a documentary.
The film takes place in Iraqi Kurdistan near the border with Turkey. It is set right before the American invasion in 2003.
One of the main characters is called Satellite because he sets up satellite dishes and antennae for local villagers hungry for news about the impending battle. He leads a large group of children, many of whom make money by collecting unexploded mines.
Satellite guides them and strikes deals with local merchants interested in buying the mines.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/MM4WHowIeMA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]Satellite’s love interest is a sad orphan traveling with her brother and a three year old boy. But despite his best efforts, she wants nothing to do with him.
In one harrowing scene, Satellite tries to save the toddler who has wandered into a minefield. It leaves the audience holding its breath in anticipation.
Ghobadi, who directed “A Time For Drunken Horses,” wrote, directed, and produced “Turtles Can Fly.” He is a native of Kurdistan.
The movie shows a part of the war that doesn’t get much attention from the American media, a slice of life in an underreported part of Iraq.
This movie is unremittingly bleak and offers precious little hope for the Kurds in time of war. It is not so much cynical as it is realistic.
It was the first feature film made in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
“Turtles Can Fly” is available for rent.
Murphy can be reached at: [email protected]
