Turtles Can Fly is driven by authentic storytelling and grounded characters. The film centers on the realities of war, focusing on children’s struggles without shoehorning in modern identity politics or checking off diversity boxes. There’s little evidence of forced representation or flaw-free protagonists; the narrative’s strength lies in its somber realism.

While the film depicts the devastation of war and shows a harsh environment, it doesn’t go out of its way to ridicule religion, tradition, or family structures. It treats these cultural elements seriously, if bleakly, and refrains from ideological revisionism or cartoonish portrayals of ‘traditional’ values.

This film presents multiple perspectives without turning dissenters into caricatures. The suffering is universal and not lectured from a singular modern ideological standpoint. There’s genuine moral ambiguity and room for viewers to interpret, rather than being spoon-fed a single worldview.