Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand (2004)

Director:

Bahman Ghobadi

Writer:

Bahman Ghobadi (writer)

Release Date:

17 February 2005 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Near the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of an American invasion, refugee children like 13-year-old Kak (Ebrahim), gauge and await their fate.

Plot Keywords:

Border | Landmine | Refugee | Kurdistan | Kurdish

Awards:

15 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Soran Ebrahim	...	Satellite
Avaz Latif	...	Agrin
Saddam Hossein Feysal	...	Pashow
Hiresh Feysal Rahman	...	Hengov
Abdol Rahman Karim	...	Riga
Ajil Zibari	...	Shirkooh

Also Known As:

Les tortues volent aussi (France) (DVD title)
Turtles Can Fly (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and mature thematic material, all involving children.

Runtime:

98 min | 95 min | Argentina:97 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Turkey:92 min (TV version)

Country:

Iran | France | Iraq

Language:

Kurdish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Singapore:PG | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Brazil:14

Company:

Mij Film Co.

Trivia:

Red Fish, which appear commonly throughout the film, are one of the seven symbols of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, and symbolize life within life. Ironically, Nowruz is on March 20, the day the United States staged the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, during which the film takes place.

Movie Connections:

References Titanic (1997)

Exquisite window on children's suffering of war

I am a movie fan who wades through a lot of alternative films in the hopes of finding the rare gem that does make it through once every few years. This film is one of them; I saw it Wednesday and turned around and saw it again on Saturday. If anything, the second time I felt like it was over FASTER, which I suppose is another sign of how exquisite this film is. It is one of the saddest films I have seen, and but it treats the pain of war in an unblinking way, recognizing that some of us simply are not equipped to carry that pain, for reasons that cannot be fathomed.

This film contains scenes framed and shot in a way you will never have seen before; the cinematography was creative and fresh. The perspectives of the children involved were haunting and wonderful. To elicit performances from these young actors (the youngest being three years old) is simply genius. I have not seen the director's previous work, but I am looking forward to exploring what I hope will be a fresh new star from a part of the world that the West desperately needs to learn about.