TURTLES CAN FLY is a compelling film

Satellite (Soran) looks out for the kids of his village on the Iran-Turkey border. His eye spots out Agrin (Avaz), her son and her armless brother Hengov (Rahman) all refugees.

What's it about: Satellite (Soran) looks out for the kids of his village on the Iran-Turkey border. His eye spots out Agrin (Avaz), her son and her armless brother Hengov (Rahman) all refugees. Despite an early run-in with the limbless but gutsy Hengov, Satellite persists and even finds time to keep his village abreast of news of war

What's hot: I don't mean to sound sadistic here, but it's the truly gut-wrenching scenes that has you going for the hurrahs. Ghobadi makes an understated film where the children are in the know, in charge, and yet, at their most vulnerable. Ebrahim is a natural talent, and we feel his rousing power, his longing, his yearning and his pain and eventual despair. Agrin's conflict of emotions comes across quite effectively. Rahman makes Hengov authoritative in no uncertain terms

What's not: You begin to read too much into the subplots and parallel stories. A minor distraction.

What to do: This is a compelling watch because of some very restrained performances by the kids.

Turtles Can Fly
'''1/2
Dir: Bahman Ghobadi
Cast: Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Hiresh Rahman