Turtle Diary

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Turtle Diary

PG,

1985,

1h 35m,

Comedy/

Drama

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Watchlist

82%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

75%

100+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Neara (Glenda Jackson) is a successful children's book author with a bad case of writer's block, so she looks to aquatic life for inspiration. At a London aquarium she chances on William (Ben Kingsley), a diffident bookseller with an enthusiasm for turtles. Musing over the hopelessly confined state of a group of tank-dwelling sea turtles, Neara and William, with the help of sympathetic zookeeper George (Michael Gambon), conspire to break the turtles free from captivity.

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Jun 24, 2006

What's left is not quite Delia Swallow for grown-ups; but the bland world this film inhabits is almost as quaint, complacent and parochial.

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

May 20, 2003

A small, eccentric, exquisitely acted comedy that manages to be as eerie as it is funny. Though it eventually seems somewhat less than the sum of its parts, it's a most engaging shaggy-turtle story.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

3.5/4

Ben Kingsley's smile, so warm and mysterious, is the sun that shines all through "Turtle Diary."

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Ángel Fernández-Santos

El Pais (Spain)

Apr 22, 2020

The metaphor is so poor that Harold Pinter's talent doesn't manage to elevate the movie... provoking in viewers a feeling of frustration. [Full Review in Spanish]

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TV Guide

Jul 3, 2015

3/4

An intelligent, witty, offbeat, and somewhat eccentric comedy based on the novel by Russell Hoban.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Jun 29, 2005

3/5

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Draco M

Aug 25, 2017

Simplistic plot of 2 middle age adults of Neaera Duncan (,Glenda Jackson) and bookstore clerk William Snow (Ben Kingsley). complying to releasing 3 turtles back into the ocean from their captived tank environment.

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John Irvin

Director

Glenda Jackson

Neaera Duncan

Ben Kingsley

William Snow

Richard Johnson

Mr. Johnson

Michael Gambon

George Fairbairn

Rosemary Leach

Mrs. Charlie Inchcliff

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Synopsis

Neara (Glenda Jackson) is a successful children's book author with a bad case of writer's block, so she looks to aquatic life for inspiration. At a London aquarium she chances on William (Ben Kingsley), a diffident bookseller with an enthusiasm for turtles. Musing over the hopelessly confined state of a group of tank-dwelling sea turtles, Neara and William, with the help of sympathetic zookeeper George (Michael Gambon), conspire to break the turtles free from captivity.

Director: John Irvin
Producer: Richard Johnson
Screenwriter: Harold Pinter
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.2M
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Surround

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