Turtles Can Fly

     Thousand thoughts in mind, what to think and what to believe, speechless this could be your situation after watching TURTLES CAN FLY. Is it really war-drama film? Director Bahaman Ghobadi’s Kurdish war drama was released in 2004. It has huge impact of mind that you won’t be able to get rid of hangover at least for a week. I saw recently TURTLES CAN FLY and it inspired me to write this article.

     Story line is strongly engaging. You will drown into drama -feel emotional about the struggle for life. It could have been a beautiful love story.  But the fact is war never gives anything beautiful and never creates beautiful stories. It is always depressing and heart screeching. Why women have to suffer whether in war or in peaceful times? Sometime it feels that the beauty of woman is only her enemy or her ability to give birth to a child is a big curse rather than a boon. A woman who gets raped is ashamed for what happened to her but what about man who raped her. They don’t have shame or any emotion near to that. It seems that they are not human but some other species upon whom gift of emotion is not endowed by god Why only a woman is considered honor of the house in the society because she is the one who stays all the time in house and man all the time stays in others house? Even after centuries this old questions are unanswered and remained questions. The questions my friend are blowing in the wind...

      Do you think birth of child can make women mature and can develop natural affinity towards the child? Does it give natural maturity to one who mothers? What if girl becomes mother before she can understand what motherhood is? Mother-child relation is considered to be of purest form. Step mother is never considered to be a good mother but birth mother has always an eminent place in poetry and legend stories.  

Film took place at refugee camp on Iraqi-Turkish border. Main protagonist of film is 13 years old 'Satellite', who is the leader of children. He helped them to earn their bread and protest for their rights. It is amazing how little child is maturely leading his team with strong commanding skill. He is very much popular in his area because he can translate English news into native language.

     Satellite met Agrin, Hanglov and 3 year old kid riga in refugee camp. It seems that satellite is victim of love at first sight but Agrin is unable to reciprocate his feelings. All the time she is thinking about how to get rid of 3 year old riga. She abuses blind riga a lot. She doesn’t want people to know about her secret and that is the only reason they were migrating from one place to another.

      We feel there is hope for the love to blossom between satellite and Agrin. But our prediction is too futile here. Why Agrin hates Riga and tried to kill him. Why she never smiles and looks depressed. What is haunting her? When we come to know her secret we are bound to empathize with her.

 Needless to say that story, cinematography, direction, music and acting are marvelous. Ghobadi created a rear or real world.

       Film will leave us with so many questions like what comes first motherhood or society, humanity or insanity, war or love, creation or destruction… I would recommend this movie to all who love kids and movies.

      In one line must watch before you die…