Turtles Can Fly 2005

In the Kurdish refugee camp on the precipice of the US invasion of Iraq, a 13-year-old enigmatic figure named Soran, alias Kak Satellite, holds court. This resourceful young leader has made a name for himself by installing satellite dishes and antennas in surrounding villages, seeking news of Saddam Hussein’s demise. His limited English vocabulary is a testament to his interactions with American forces, whose arrival will soon upend the fragile equilibrium of the camp. As the de facto leader of the children, Soran orchestrates the perilous task of clearing minefields, an endeavor that has left many of his comrades scarred and traumatized.

Kak Satellite’s entrepreneurial spirit knows no bounds as he brokers trade-ins for undetonated explosives, a lucrative venture in a region ravaged by war. His attention is soon diverted to Agrin, a brooding orphan from Halabja who has recently arrived at the camp, her eyes haunted by the ghosts of her past. Soran’s affections are piqued by Agrin’s enigmatic nature, and he goes out of his way to assist her, hoping to win her favor. Agrin’s stoic demeanor is a shield against the demons that continue to torment her, demons fueled by the traumatic events she has endured.

Traveling with Agrin is her brother Hengov, a gentle soul whose disability belies a profound gift – clairvoyance. His reputation as a mystic has preceded him, earning him both admiration and suspicion. Completing their little family unit is Riga, a blind toddler who is tenderly referred to as their “little brother.” As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Agrin gave birth to Riga under the most heinous of circumstances – gang rape at the hands of Ba’ath soldiers – leaving her with an existential crisis. For Agrin, Riga serves as a constant reminder of her brutal past, a painful reality she struggles to accept.

As desperation consumed Agrin, she repeatedly attempted to sever her emotional ties with the child, resorting to reckless abandon in a bid to escape the weight of responsibility. Her futile efforts ranged from an ill-fated attempt at self-immolation on the lake’s tranquil surface, where she ultimately abandoned her suicidal impulses, to tying the child to a tree and leaving him to fend for himself. The boy’s wanderings eventually led him into a treacherous minefield, where he became entangled in its deadly labyrinth. Kak Satellite, undeterred by the perils that lay ahead, bravely ventured forth to rescue the young victim, but his selfless act came at a cost: a devastating explosion left him nursing a grievous leg injury.

Undeterred by her previous failures, Agrin redoubled her efforts to eliminate the child from her life. After multiple attempts, she finally secured Riga to a boulder and cast him into the depths of the lake, an act that ultimately proved to be her own undoing as she succumbed to despair’s crushing grip. In a heart-wrenching epilogue, Agrin’s lifeless body came to rest at the foot of a precipice, where it was later discovered by her grief-stricken brother, who had been driven out of his tent by a prophetic vision of loved ones meeting their demise.

Meanwhile, as Hengov stood vigil on the very cliff from which Agrin had taken her own life, he was overcome with sorrow at the discovery of his nephew’s lifeless form trapped beneath the lake’s surface. Despite his physical limitations, he struggled in vain to free the boy’s body from its rocky tomb, a poignant testament to his deep emotional pain.

In a separate narrative thread, Kak Satellite, once a beacon of hope and defiance, was reduced to a mere spectator as American forces finally arrived on the scene. His once-bright spirit now dimmed by the harsh realities of war and the cruel twist of fate that had claimed his leg, he turned away in disillusionment, his eyes averted from the soldiers who had once held such promise for him.