Turtles Can Fly

Of the movies we have watched in class so far, Turtles Can Fly certainly hit me the hardest. At times, it was tough to watch and I think that was in part due to the fact that the film was centered around children.  One of the first things I noticed about the film was that it showed the children in mature roles. ‘Satellite’ seemed to be the leader of the village as he was the one called on to fix the antennas, translate the news, and put the other children to work. It is hard to see someone so young take on such responsibility. It was also hard for me to watch Agrin and Riga because it becomes obvious that she hates the child. Because she gave birth to Riga after being gang raped by soldiers who killed her parents, it is understandable that she feels this way. Although the movie is just a representation of what occurred in the weeks before the U.S invaded Iraq, it’s horrible to see the conditions that these people were living in.

            The notion of Diaspora is prevalent within the film because so many of the children are refugees. Diaspora is often characterized when describing the Jews and how they fled Germany and began life in a different location with different cultures. These refugee children are the same way. They have to adapt to the way of life established by the Iraqis in the village.

My North American identity did change the way I viewed the film. As an American, I never want to see the death or pain that my country has caused someone else and yet that is exactly what this film did. Hengov and ‘Satellite’ lost limbs because of American made landmines. I had nothing to do with that but I feel guilty on behalf of my country for causing children that pain and suffering.  It was also interesting to see the children portrayed in the light that they were because in the United States, children are supposed to go outside and play. To see these young children being forced to live up to those adult roles made me realize how easy life in America has been.

The music played a big stylistic role in the film because it gave cues as to what the actors were thinking. For instance, when ‘Satellite’ begins to have a crush on Agrin, there are violins playing sweetly in the background. Since the movie was not in English, I did not always pick up on what the characters were feeling but the music certainly helped portray their emotions.

I think that Ghobadi’s message was to show that even though Iraq was plagued with poverty, war, and disaster, the people are strong. This comes through when ‘Satellite’ takes on his role as provider, Agrin her role as caregiver, and in the good heartedness of Hengov. These children were forced to grow up too soon and they did what they had to in order to survive.