Mustang

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/director Deniz Gamze Erguven admits to being inspired by Sophia Coppola's 1999 The Virgin Suicides (though this is not a remake), and by offering us a rare glimpse into the lives of five sisters in a rural community in Turkey, it's clear why the film has been so well received at film festivals – culminating in an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. It's a bit confusing that the film is credited to France (Ms. Erguven's current place of residence) as it takes place in Turkey and is performed in Turkish. But of course, country of origin is a minor ripple in this year's uproar over diversity at the Oscars.

Not being any type of expert in Turkey culture or customs, I must accept that the insights provided by Ms. Erguven and her co-writer Alice Winocour are somewhat accurate, which makes the balance between the tradition of female oppression and the amazing spirit of the girls so relatable for many. What begins as a seemingly harmless game of chicken the girls play with some classmates (boys) on the way home after the semester's last day of classes, turns into a series of events that most will find absolutely unacceptable. The shame brought to the family and the threat of the girls being "spoiled" highlights the extreme reactions from their grandmother (Nihal G Koldas) and Uncle Erol (Ayberk Pekcan).

Lale (Gunes Sensoy) is the youngest of the sisters and in the end proves to be the toughest and most independent. And that's really saying something. We take in much of what happens through Lale's expressive eyes, and we as viewers long for reasonableness to enter their lives. After being what can only be described as imprisoned in their own home, the spirit of the girls collectively and individually becomes clear. They find ways, small and large, to rebel … but it's soon enough clear that the mission is to marry the girls off before it's too late (there's that "spoiled" thing again).

As Lale witnesses what her older sisters are subjected to, and how happiness or their own wishes play no role, she becomes more determined to avoid such destiny. With skewed perspective, one might make the argument that Grandmother and Uncle are doing what they think is in the long term best interests of the girls, but the Uncle's despicable actions void any such thought. Instead we are left to marvel at the strength and spirit of the girls in world that holds them in such low regard as individuals.

Lale's sisters are Sonay (IIayda Akdogan), Nur (Doga Zeynep Doguslu), Selma (Tugba Sunguroglu) and Ece (Elit Iscan). The girls are so natural together that we never doubt their sisterly bond. They argue like sisters, defend each other as sisters, and play together like sisters … were it not for their isolated existence, their bond would be a joy to behold. The cinematography throughout the film adds to the discomfort and dread we feel, and the acting is naturalistic and believable. In the end, it's the unbridled freedom of the titular creature that Lale defiantly embraces … whatever the consequences may be.

Five sisters play in the sand, sunlight, sea and a grove of apple trees. Because boys are present the innocent play is easily twisted, by an envious conservative busy-body, into something sinister. The orphan girls are reported as "whores." Their caretakers, an uncle and grandmother, are much less concerned about the truth than what the neighbors might say. The girls are confined to their house and relegated to shapeless brown dresses, cooking lessons and virginity tests. Banned items include phones, internet and any item capable of outside communication. Their once beautiful and happy playground on the Black Sea is transformed into a "wife-factory" with bars on the windows. Each girl deals with the physical and emotional imprisonment in different ways, sometimes hopeful and often not. The non-professional actors do really well. The girls are especially good because they gel so well together. On the other hand, some of the scenes and actors seem forced and unrealistic. As usual, this independent and worthy film might have benefited from better support. The film as a whole pulls some punches and risks becoming the Walt Disney of Turkey for its glossy portrayals of serious stuff. Then again, that might be the only way the film could be released widely? The moral here, for the girls' caretakers, is that you are likely to get burned if you fight fire with fire. "Evil must be your only happiness," when you see evil everywhere.

I just saw this movie in a nearly full capacity packed 300 seat theater. Very rarely I rate 10 out of 10, but this piece of film art blew me away from beginning to end, so what more can a viewer expect out of cinema.

Five teenagers grow up in a very conservative Turkish village. From early age it is expected that they will marry with a boy the elders prefer, rather than loose themselves in foolish romance. What makes the movie so appealing is the outstanding acting performances of the five teenagers and the realistic way the plot develops. Mustang at the same time offers a laugh and a tear; the viewer is offered the perspective of young ladies growing up, discovering their sexuality and being told that this is a bad thing.

Of course some critics will argue that this movie might give viewers a wrong impression about Turkey. This kind of criticism would be the same as stating when a director portrays a story about any kind of bad situation in a certain country, a viewer might get a wrong impression about the country as a whole. This way not one movie should be set in any country in the world because some viewers will always generalize a specific situation.

This movie is clearly set in a small rather isolated agricultural village in Turkey; it clearly isn't set in Istanbul (the more modern capital of Turkey). The director also does a very good job of not pointing the finger towards Islam (the main religion in Turkey).

What is questioned in this movie is not so much about religion, it is conservatism as a concept which is questioned.

A must see movie, one of the best if not the best I've seen in 2015 and the only one I saw in 2015 I rate 10/10.

A film like this can work on many levels, and surely not just on a basic entertainment factor. It's intriguing because it sets up situations and dilemmas that different sections of the world may entirely reveal shock at it, but these sort of situations can be unfortunate for all involved. Gender issues are at the forefront here and the writing cleverly touches on the issue, along with sexuality as a whole, while creating well-developed characters that serve to guide us through the fascinating, intriguing tale. The entire film is well-directed, a lot of nuance in the proceedings as well as a delicate hand that may have spiraled out of control in the hands of another director. The acting is also uniformly good, and all of the young female characters (in particular the lead) handle the heavy material really well.

Even though i assume not many people will read this i'm going to put a disclaimer first. I honestly don't mind if this is a 100% real representation of Turkish culture or not, and it doesn't need to be, no live action film does, this isn't a documentary. Simply put, if it successfully tells a good story then the film did its job and i'm happy with it. Also, i heard many people online hated the movie only because it had some direct feminist themes, the hate is highly undeserved,not only because that isn't a valid enough reason, but because the film doesn't bang you over the head with its messages, and there are many more universal themes weaved in the narrative structure of the film. Now that thats out of the way lets get into the review.

The film tells the tale about five young free spirited sisters living in a conservative Turkish household, and the friction regarding the relationship between them and their uncle and grandmother. it's a touching story about the generational gap that exists between them, and the need for the sisters to find their place in life that isn't determined by their family. Technical aspects of the film are quite superb, to my eye the editing was professional, and the cinematography beautiful, the sombre soundtrack goes hand in hand with the story of the film, and the acting was at least as far ass i could tell very good, although i cant be sure since i don't speak Turkish. One of the first things i noticed when i watched the film is that the family relations depicted in the film bear a striking resemblance to an old conservative Serbian family, which doesn't come as a big surprise since the Turks practically ruled our lands for five centuries, and that is one of the main reasons i would recommend this to anyone who was raised in a Balkan country which was occupied by the Turks, because i think they will find some interesting parallels.

What bothered me the most about the film was the fact that certain characters weren't very developed, specifically the teacher, and the driver that frequently helps the younger sister, i simply wished that the script devoted more time to explaining their motivation. Also the ending seamed very unexpected, and not in a good way, it simply wasn't foreshadowed enough for it to be satisfying.

All in all i think this is a worthy contender for the academy award, and it made me very interested in the future career of Deniz Gamze Ergüven, the director of the film, she is a talented woman with a bright future regarding the world of cinema, i wish her the best of luck.