Mustang

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.

Mustang is a Turkish movie inspired by Sofia Coppola's Virgin Suicides. It takes place in a remote village in Turkey and follows the story of five sisters whose very conservative family slowly takes away all forms of 'perversion' away from them in order to make them 'suitable wives'.

The movie doesn't beat you over the head with its feminist message but lets the drama unfold naturally. The tone is surprisingly sweet and even funny in places for a movie with such a subject matter. First time director Deniz Gamze Ergüven has a strong grip on tone; she never allows the movie to become too gritty for its own good. The girls are not defined by the plot like it's often the case with this type of movies; they have moments of laughs and happiness which never undermine the seriousness of the subject matter.

The performances from the lead actresses are phenomenal. The youngest girl blew me away - not once do you feel like she's acting. Their performances is what make them so distinctive from each other and not just stand-ins for Oppressed Muslim Girls TM like it's often the case.

Mustang is easily one of the best feminist movies of the year, proudly sitting next to The Diary of a Teenage Girl. It's sincere and heartfelt, it's not preachy but honest and it shows great premise for the future of its director. Don't miss it!

I am Turkish. I know how people behave in rural parts of Turkey. This movie is so ridiculously bad I would not waste another sentence for it if it wasn't for the minimal review length requirement of IMDb. So here it is, 10 lines... Actors do not even come close to give an authentic depiction of how people living in a village in İnebolu act and behave. The story is a disaster. The general attitude of the movie is tastelessly didactic. Don't you ever think that you get a somewhat accurate representation of anything regarding Turkish society from this excuse of a movie. The director/writer does obviously not know how things work in rural parts of Turkey. One of the writers is not even Turkish. So, go figure... The fuss around this movie (oscar nomination etc.) is a textbook case of westerners appreciating narratives about the rest of the world which justify their ideological preconceptions.

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.

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.