Mustang-2015

Director Deniz Gamze Erguven

Starring Güneş Şensoy

Scott’s Review #417

Reviewed June 18, 2016

Grade: A-

Mustang (2015) is a powerful, relevant Turkish film released in 2015 and nominated for many awards, including the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

I fully support the nomination because I think it is a top-notch film.

A coming-of-age story with no clichés and a real, true-to-life feel, it explores generational beliefs and how they conflict with other viewpoints and ideas.

It also focuses on blossoming life and, sadly, tragic death.

The story follows five beautiful young sisters living in a remote village in Turkey, a thousand miles from Istanbul.

The girls range in age from eight to eighteen and live with their Grandmother and Uncle Erol.

The sisters’ parents had died years earlier.

The main protagonist is Lale (Güneş Şensoy), the youngest sibling, who becomes wise well beyond her years as the plot unfolds. We first meet her as she bids an emotional farewell to her teacher before moving to Istanbul.

The film is told largely from Lale’s point of view, but each girl plays an important role.

As the girls play an innocent game in a lake with a group of boys, it causes a scandal in their “old world” village, and their Grandmother and Uncle banish them inside the house, fearing their progressive ideas will hurt and shame them.

The main crux of the story is the conflict between different generations and the yearning of the girls to be free and independent, both sexually and intellectually.

Their older relatives, and others in the town, prefer the old ways and are prudish.

The oldest daughters enter into arranged marriages, while the younger ones fear the same will soon happen to them.

The film wisely avoids portraying these conflicts in a clichéd way or making them overly obvious.

Rather, the film feels real, fresh, and like a slice of small-town Turkish life. Istanbul is described as a paradise of open-minded thinkers and progressive ways, and as “the place to be.”

The girls fear life in the doldrums, cooking and cleaning for their men, married off to older men without any love.

It is unclear if the Uncle is molesting any of the girls- the film alludes to it, but the point is not made obvious. What is clear, though, is the girls’ desire for sexual freedom, experimentation, and love.

They are modern thinkers.

The young actress who plays Lale is a marvel. So natural, earnest, and clever, she befriends an older man who teaches her to drive, and they embark on a sweet friendship.

The film is shown through Lale’s eyes and her reactions. Knowing nothing of sex, she sneaks a peek at a sex education book and is fascinated by her older sister’s sex discussions.

The ending leaves events open to interpretation, and I believe happiness awaits those featured at the conclusion.

Mustang (2015) is a wonderful film, filled with truth, conflict, great acting, and food for thought. A must-see for foreign language film lovers.

Oscar Nominations: Best Foreign Language Film

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best International Film