Turtles can fly was a very funny film, with kids running everything at all times. I really liked this film, mainly just because the kids were such amazing actors. The character, Satellite, played such a strong role in the film, and everyone in the camp, including adults, seemed to listen to whatever he had to say. I was always curious why, but i'm pretty sure it was because he was very good at setting up satellites, and getting TV for others. Hence the name, Satellite. This film had kids disassembling mines, showing me this film was not American. In America, we make sure to keep mines out of harm's way, rather than just having them out in the open. The kids would sell the disassembled mines to people in the town, and trade them for weapons to fight in the war. In America no one would legally sell a 13 year old a gun. In this film, I noticed that a lot of these kids had birth defects such as, Clubfoot, blindness, and a kid born without arms. These kids parents probably were exposed so some kind of chemical that made them have birth defects, or these kids parents were not taking care of their bodies while they were pregnant. This really made me appreciate the health care in America, because we have doctors constantly checking up on us making sure we're okay. In Iraq, they don't have present doctors on call whenever they need them, like we do. In the ending of this move, Satellites love, Argin, commits suicide because she could not take her life anymore. I don't think I would make any drastic changes to the ending because it leave us not worried about this character so much. Should she have committed suicide? No, but she couldn't seem to look past her current life, and decided that it was better if she stayed out of others too. The one thing that I would change is I wish that the director added someone, at the end, who fed the boys with no arms. Sense Argin is now dead, he was left stranded, and I worry about him. I now don't know how he is going to eat.

Turtles Can Fly, a movie that I was very crossed with. The movie is set in a small Kurdish village in Iraq. A young man is able to capitalize on the war and sell new/used American land mines. While doing this he encounters some of the young children who fell victim to Saddam Hussein's gas experiments. Satellite- the young capitalist- finds a boy with no arms and his abused sister, and her son walking into the village. The troubled little girl wants to rid her on her baby, but weirdly the brother wants to keep him. The movie is very dark in the fact that the young girl will eventually kill herself, and the armless boy becomes very sad about it. The most satisfying part of the film was the insertion of the American forces. It made me feel sane and gave me hope that just maybe the people in the small village would be saved. I personally would not recommend the movie, unless you like a very actuate and sad film, of the first Iraq war.

An eye opening, depressing and amazing movie showing the human cost of war, as depicted by the harrowing existence of Kurdish refugees and orphans living near the Iraq-turkey border on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq.This award winning "staged" documentary is a tough go, but the performances from all the children are pretty mind blowing and you can't help but get caught up in their day to day existence.The movie follows one boy known as "Satellite" who seemingly runs the whole show at the camp; wheeling and dealing and organizing everything including the purchase of a satellite dish, weapons for the village elders, and setting up work details for the other children which often includes digging for land mines and comments like this from potential employers; "Most of these kids don't even have hands how can they work for me?" We also learn the past of a young girl, her blind baby and armless brother -who is apparently able to see the future. Their story is the most maddening and heartbreaking. 02.09.14

Okay, I know what I said about not seeing any war films for the rest of the year... but this is set just BEFORE the Iraq conflict, and it's not even about fighting. So ner.Instead there's some kid nicknamed Satellite, who is in charge of a group of orphaned children who help residents clear mines from their fields... which they then sell on. Well, you've gotta make a living somehow. It's while doing this he meet a traumatised girl, who he develops a crush on. Only trouble is... she has one older brother whose arms have been blown off, and a baby sibling who happens to be blind. Who she has to look after. Alone. Well, you can't choose who you fall in love with...Starting a few weeks before the Yanks landed and ending with the toppling of Saddam's statue, it weaves an intricate tale of damaged lives in a hazardous environment. Even in this precarious place surrounded by poverty and devastation, groups of children bond together in the mutual interest of survival, and every day they dice with death. Satellite, riding around on his bike, loves his young charges and would do anything to protect them. If only all bosses were so considerate...Considering most of these actors are probably non-professional, and there's so many of them, it's amazing how natural they are in front of the camera. Kudos to the makers too, for hiring people with obvious physical impediments... no prosthetics on display here. The plot keeps you watching, though it lacks drama until the very end. I enjoyed it more as a historical piece than a film, but it definitely is worth watching at least once. And no, you never do see any turtles fly. How disappointing... 6/10