When I hear war movie I think of movies like Rambo and Saving Private Ryan, but after watching the film Turtles can Fly I’m going to have to rethink my preconceived notions of the war movie genre. Turtles can Fly takes places during the present day Iraqi-American war, but instead of being from a soldier’s perspective, it takes the viewpoints children. The film’s protagonist, Satellite, takes care of the village’s children by finding work for them which includes clearing mine fields, renting guns, setting up satellite dishes, and various other odd jobs. The movie also is centered on the story of two refugees, Agrin, and Henkov. After first laying eyes on Agrin, the only female lead, Satellite immediately sets out to woo her despite his ignorance of her troubled past. The film goes on to reveal more about these two refuge brother and sister and their “little brother” through a series of flashbacks slowly revealing the plot behind the movie. In the end, Turtles can Fly is a story about the harshness of everyday life for children in a war torn country.
One of the items in this movie that struck me as important was the rope Satellite gives to Agrin in the beginning of the movie. At first it symbolized his interest in Agrin because he had given it to her for no charge. Later on in the film it, after more of Agrin’s story was revealed, it came to symbolize something else. The rope that was used to keep Agrin’s “brother” tied down so he wouldn’t escape also tied Agrin to the child and to her violent past. And the rope was used again in the end of the film to tie down her problems permanently so she could finally leave. It was powerful use of symbols like the rope and others, such as the red fish, which give this movie its deeper meaning.
Turtles can Fly was a unique perspective on the Iraqi people. Something we as Americans don’t get to see very often.
-David Brown-
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