Turtles Can Fly

Iraq. War. A story revolving around children in a refugee camp. Dread of gloom and melodrama (maybe for someone who grew up on Bollywood) descends. Its none of that, its not even the exact opposite .

I found this storytelling very powerful. Maybe because Coetzee's writing-caused-wow is still in my head, but i think this film reminds me of the way he writes. Not stopping to dwell or elaborate on emotions and struggles, taking you through a quick tour of people's lives. Where it departs from his writing stems from the cultural ground from which it is born. It does tell a very poignant tale injected with humour skirting off cliches. Rather it makes me think of cliches we don't register. Picture this, kids strolling through an ammunition bazaar, trading mines they dug out for rifles and ammunition. What emotion would you expect to accompany this visual? The first time i saw it i was sharing the sense of excitement and fun the kids are having at getting their new stuff.

I am replicating a very succinct and apt commentary on the film:
Heartbreak in the High Hills of No Man's Land., 13 March 2006
10/10
Author: PizzicatoFishCrouch from United Kingdom

"The trauma of war has been an issue much covered in cinema, but in this film, we are shown the impact that it has on those who are most innocent of all – the children. The orphaned children are a range of interesting characters presented to us here, from Satellite, a sharp TV programmer to Pashow, an armless but still doggedly determined boy. The supporting children are shown as bright eyed watchers of war, eagerly awaiting it so that they can try their hand at the missiles, which, at first sounds amusing, but then escalates into something much more horrific, and we follow their misadventures through grainy camera-work, improvised dialogue and flashbacks.

The performances delivered by the children are nothing short of astounding. In the lead, Soran Ebrahim is in parts a mixture of caprice, zest and energy, and it is he who grasps our heart and makes for the first, slightly more light-hearted part of the film. In a completely different role, Avaz Latif is the film's heartbreak, and the one that endures the worst. Her performance is wordless, but she manages to portray all her deepest emotions through a look or gesture. When we delve deeper into the plot to realise exactly how much her character has suffered, it is then that the horror of war kicks in.

Turtles Can Fly is not one for the easily depressed. Truth be told, after watching it, I was still in tears for several minutes, utterly helpless and wishing that something could be done about the constant loss of innocence. Its message is blatant, and though a bleak one, presented in a harsh, disturbing war, makes a welcome change from all the Left, Right and Centre propaganda given to us in the Media. Turtles is a film that speaks for itself; no advertising needed."

Avatar in 2D

I feel let down. My thoughts on Avatar 2D. My disappointment stems from the fact that I was geared up for an experience rivaling LOTR and Star Wars (both mentioned in Roger Ebert’s review though in my quick look at the review I missed the context) and the fact that I was watching Tarkovsky’s Solaris a day before I saw Avatar and that I saw it in 2D! Though I did go from Varanasi to Lucknow just to see the film at least in English.

Seen stripped of its 3D wonder I am sure lot of people will dismiss as just another special effects war story which people might have trouble remembering in few years. But the fact is, it is in 3D and from what I have read I am still pretty sure it’s a spectacular experience. And that made me realize what technical advances in filmmaking had led to. Rather the word “film” itself might be becoming obsolete anytime now. The more we advance in visual, sound excellence the less effort required on drama and story. A different kind of effort , not a purist’s effort.

And that’s what cinema has done(in comparison to theatre), shifted the burden of engagement from story to visual maneuvers. I can see myself over the school years never never letting up my love for theatre and barely being gripped by films until Jurassic Park. And then in college when I started running to movie halls it was an escape that I sought and yet amidst that passivity the thought struck loud and clear. My beloved theatre did not have an fractional influence that cinema had over zillions of people huddling into movie halls to escape the tedium of their lives. And after seeing Avatar I realized it all over again that before anything films are an experiential, immediate, far-reaching but diluted medium. Though in past and people still try to treat it with reverence and passion of an artist , they are the marginal beings in the movie industry and apart from that I don’t know how many would even consider them to be an artist. The sort of artist a painter can be.

I am not dismissing Avatar, though that was my first reaction and I have let weeks go by to wholly say that it is not so. I would love to see this 3D wonder and be swept into another world, like LOTR and Star Wars did. Though these epics and Avatar are not comparable when it comes to the story and character. These two are epics with characters who get trilogies to show their shades, for struggles to persist while Avatar is much much barer when it comes to a layered script or complex characters. Jake Sully who is not exactly Frodo, or an Anakin who is given quite a lot of years before he jumps into the evil bandwagon. The three months span for Jake to make his decision that also without very much as second thoughts made me lose my connect to the character.

So now I dismiss the epic comparision , it is unsuitable . Its not an epic , not a great story of human drama. So I recall to me Hellboy, which if I had seen stripped of its imaginative characters would be quite not the Hellboy I love. Having watched Avatar in 2D made me think though I love epics how much of a fan would I have been if I had watched those with lesser enthralling visuals. The landscapes that one is treated to while watching LOTR, the entirely different world in Star Wars.

How oblivious I have been to the impact of production design, location and photography to films! Avatar has opened led me to quite a few outstanding specimens from my ignorance galores. So hoping a chance to view Avatar in 3D works out and then I can re-think it all.

Yet …. It did bother me the story and let me make just one point to assuage my viewing displeasure.
The protagonist's paraplegia makes me think his conflict is not there. The second life that his new legs have gotten him, the life that he has experienced in Pandora, where he commands the attention of everybody in Otacamaya clan, he is the "chosen one" why would he give it back. Of course he is offered new legs as a human. But for someone who lives very mcuh in the moment, has no fear, has no contemplative bend of nature this was the natural decision. The story does not afford a view into if he had a reason to want to be a human. So it is not surprising or aggrandizing when we see our hero choose to be a Na'avi. Of course he makes the choice after he has burnt his bridge to human race and has established himself almost like the king of the clan. Choosing to stay in a fairytale world of Na'avi who seem to be living so peacefully. There are other things too, but I think I will be waging an unfair criticism. This bit is enough to exorcise my demons of disappointment.

I did like Zoe Saldana's performance or maybe the Na'avi having big eyes (the wide eyed thing that Disney heavily employed for its female lead animation characters) worked in her character's favour.