Mustang (2015) was co-scripted and directed by the female Turkish director Deniz Gamze Ergüven. Alice Winocour, the French screenwriter and director, co-scripted the film. (It's considered a French film, set in Turkey.)
In the first scenes of the film, five teenage sisters are walking home from school, and they can't resist taking a detour to a beach. Some teenage boys join them, and they enjoy some splashing and roughhousing. By the time they get home, a neighbor has reported this outrage to their grandmother, and they are severely chastised. They receive a tongue lashing (and possibly more) from their uncle, their phones are taken away, their computer is disconnected. They can no longer leave home. In fact they are literally under house arrest, because the windows and doors are barred.
The sisters are spirited, intelligent young women. They make the best of their situation while they try to overcome it. You applaud their spirit not to surrender, but the yoke of the traditional society is immensely heavy.
The acting of the cast is outstanding, and the film is well crafted. Their are comic moments, but for me the entire movie was a grim reminder of the plight of women in a harsh, traditional society. Remember--these are not women in some small, isolated community. They are modern women trapped in a non-modern milieu. I found the film discouraging and sad, more than an uplifting tribute to the human spirit.
We saw Mustang at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. It will work on the small screen.
P.S. Mustang was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards
In the first scenes of the film, five teenage sisters are walking home from school, and they can't resist taking a detour to a beach. Some teenage boys join them, and they enjoy some splashing and roughhousing. By the time they get home, a neighbor has reported this outrage to their grandmother, and they are severely chastised. They receive a tongue lashing (and possibly more) from their uncle, their phones are taken away, their computer is disconnected. They can no longer leave home. In fact they are literally under house arrest, because the windows and doors are barred.
The sisters are spirited, intelligent young women. They make the best of their situation while they try to overcome it. You applaud their spirit not to surrender, but the yoke of the traditional society is immensely heavy.
The acting of the cast is outstanding, and the film is well crafted. Their are comic moments, but for me the entire movie was a grim reminder of the plight of women in a harsh, traditional society. Remember--these are not women in some small, isolated community. They are modern women trapped in a non-modern milieu. I found the film discouraging and sad, more than an uplifting tribute to the human spirit.
We saw Mustang at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. It will work on the small screen.
P.S. Mustang was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards