Turtles Can Fly
IFC Films | Release Date: February 18, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
85
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
30
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Superb acting and authentic details energize this rare Iran/Iraq coproduction. Read full review
100
New York PostV.A. Musetto
This isn't a war movie. Rather, it's a powerful, heart-tugging portrait of the innocent victims of conflict. Read full review
100
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
Turtles Can Fly, is masterly: it courses before us with grace, a control that paradoxically bespeaks love and anger. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It is about the actual lives of refugees, who lack the luxury of opinions because they are preoccupied with staying alive in a world that has no place for them. Read full review
100
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
It's a soaring achievement, without ever leaving the ground. Read full review
100
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Ghobadi shows us a world where a village pond can hold both rare goldfish and unforgivable evil, and where every step is onto booby-trapped terrain. Read full review
100
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
One of the most heartbreaking, unforgettable dramas in years. Read full review
90
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
Turtles Can Fly has little space for mawkishness, and the kids are far too cussed to be cute. It is, in every sense, the more immediate achievement: it hits and hurts the eyes (the rainy days are lousy enough, but the skies of royal blue, above such grief, feel especially insulting), and it also seems to bleed straight out of the headlines. Read full review
90
VarietyRobert Koehler
Ghobadi in this pic displays a complete command of his art as he shifts between -- and even blends -- wrenching tragedy and amusing comedy. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyDavid Chute
Ghobadi's genius seems supercharged rather than weighed down by his higher calling, and his imagery is so boilingly alive that we come away from it feeling exhilarated rather than depressed. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
It is a heartbreaking film, and cruelty sometimes seems to be not only its subject but its method. Like the child on a high cliff that is one of its recurring images, the film walks up to the edge of hopelessness and pauses there, waiting to see what happens next. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Although Turtles Can Fly is a lyrical, often lovely film with touches of humor, it's also a remorseless tragedy that doesn't offer its child protagonists any false redemption. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Offers a sometimes lyrical, sometimes gut-turning portrait of war seen through the eyes of children. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A beautiful, intensely moving film. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
By the end, Turtles Can Fly becomes a lyrical and heartbreaking reminder of the human toll of war. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJim Healy
There's no denying his (Ghobadi's) talent for suspense or his ability to get riveting performances from nonprofessionals. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDuane Byrge
Heart-wrenching as well as spirit-raising. Read full review
80
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Amid the muddy scrubbery of the camp and its hinterland surroundings, Ghobadi catches some striking compositions. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Turtles Can Fly creates a haunting reminder that collateral damage can't always be measured in casualty rates, and that it goes on long after the news cameras have left the scene. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Ghobadi uses the lack of resources and the surfeit of drama that had been the lot of the Kurds throughout Hussein's dictatorship and both Gulf wars much in the way De Sica and Rossellini used the European tragedies of the '30s and '40s, Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Ghobadi has little use for sentimentality, and never flinches from the fate of these children. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A cry of anguish for the youngest victims of every war.
80
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Powerful images hook you immediately. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
All of the actors in Turtles Can Fly are nonprofessionals, and all bring electrifying authenticity and presence to their roles. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
An emotional triumph. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
There's no refuge in this uncomfortably realistic movie, and that is its strength. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Sad yet offering glimpses of hope. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Not everything here is that vivid or uncluttered. Sometimes, the film betrays the circumstances of its making, shot hastily on location in Iraq after the fall of Saddam just as the extended conflict was beginning. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
A well-made but harrowing and extremely downbeat coming-of-age drama. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
What keeps the picture alive is Ghobadi's surprising, often explosive grasp of visual farce. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyStaff (Not credited)
Lacks grace, coherence, and a surface vivid enough to make it an alarm that many will hear. Read full review
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