When five orphan girls are seen innocently playing with boys on a beach, their scandalized conservative guardians confine them while forced marriages are arranged.
A judge in an unnamed country interviews three actors, together and singly, provoking them while investigating a pornographic performance for which they may face a fine. Their relationships... See full summary »
Director:
Ingmar Bergman
Stars:
Ingrid Thulin,
Anders Ek,
Gunnar Björnstrand
After meeting at a local pool over their summer break, a love triangle forms between three adolescent girls, which proves difficult to sustain as they each desire the love of another.
Director:
Céline Sciamma
Stars:
Pauline Acquart,
Louise Blachère,
Adèle Haenel
A recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.
A young artist draws a face at a canvas on his easel. Suddenly the mouth on the drawing comes into life and starts talking. The artist tries to wipe it away with his hand, but when he looks... See full summary »
Director:
Jean Cocteau
Stars:
Enrique Rivero,
Elizabeth Lee Miller,
Pauline Carton
After the death of her grandmother, Teresa comes home to her matriarchal village in a near-future Brazil to find a succession of sinister events that mobilizes all of its residents.
Directors:
Juliano Dornelles,
Kleber Mendonça Filho
Stars:
Bárbara Colen,
Thomas Aquino,
Silvero Pereira
In order to escape her isolation, wheelchair-bound Christine makes a life changing journey to Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage in the Pyrenees Mountains.
Director:
Jessica Hausner
Stars:
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Early summer. In a village in northern Turkey, Lale and her four sisters are walking home from school, playing innocently with some boys. The immorality of their play sets off a scandal that has unexpected consequences. The family home is progressively transformed into a prison; instruction in homemaking replaces school and marriages start being arranged. The five sisters who share a common passion for freedom, find ways of getting around the constraints imposed on them.Written by
Festival de Cannes
The girls want to go to the Galatasaray-Trabzon match. They say to Yasin that they need to go to Trabzon. However, later when we see them on TV, the score shows Galatasaray's (GS) name first which means the match is in Istanbul not in Trabzon. See more »
Quotes
Lale:
The house became a wife factory that we never came out of.
See more »
The Mother
Written by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Performed by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
Publishing 2929 Tunes / BMG Sapphire Songs
(p) 2009 2929 Productions LLC
Courtesy of BMG Rights Management (France) See more »
User Reviews
A Fearless Celebration Of Womanhood And A Timely Exploration Of Patriarchy & Conservatism
Undeniably amongst the most powerful, provocative & pragmatic narratives to surface on the silver screen in recent years, Mustang is a beautifully balanced blend of skillful direction, sensible writing & terrific performances that takes a much-needed dig at patriarchy & conservatism and also works as a joyful celebration of sisterhood.
Set in a small Turkish village, the story of Mustang follows five young orphaned sisters whose lives are changed completely when they are caught innocently playing with some boys on a beach, after which their conservative family bars them from going to school anymore and begins marrying them off one by one without their consent.
Co-written & directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven in what is actually her feature film debut, Mustang takes only a few minutes to establish the strong bond between the siblings before stepping into the realm of absurd social & cultural restraints that snatches away their freedom in the blink of an eye and every restriction imposed upon them turns out to be both nonsensical & unnerving.
The screenplay is no slouch either for it packs in an engaging storyline that smoothly unfolds over the course of its runtime and is filled with meaty characters whose arcs are well-defined plus they exhibit surprising depths. Ergüven's never goes in-your-face with her critical stance on orthodox mentality but simply exposes the challenges women face when growing up in such communities.
The technical aspects are thoroughly refined and work in harmony to further uplift the film's tone & ambiance to its desired level. Camera is expertly utilised, always keeping its focus on the relevant characters, while the bright colour palette reflects the strength & joy the sisters find in each other's company even in the bleakest of circumstances. And editing is immaculately carried out as well for every sequence plays a vital role in the story.
Coming to the performances, Mustang features a relatively inexperienced cast but the contribution from the five girls who play siblings in this feature is a highlight in itself. The scripted characters do have some flesh on them, thus providing a solid platform for the actors to built their performances upon but they further up the ante by delivering wonderfully layered & highly convincing inputs that makes all the relevant characters in the film stand out.
The story is told from the perspective of Lale, the youngest of the five siblings, and it's through her eyes that we witness the injustice she & her sisters are subjected to yet what keeps them together is their common passion for freedom & constant pursuit of ways to bypass the restrictions imposed upon them by the elders. And it is this rebellious nature that slowly accumulates as plot progresses & finally concludes with an act of self-preservation that finishes the tale on a hopeful note.
On an overall scale, Mustang is an ingeniously crafted, meticulously layered & deftly measured cinema that's engaging, entertaining & enlightening on more levels than one and for a first time filmmaker, it's an incredibly polished effort. Ergüven's direction exudes both confidence & composure and the story as a whole manages to make its voice heard loud & clear. A fearless celebration of womanhood & a heartfelt rendition of the indomitable will of human spirit, Mustang is a timely & welcome coming- of-age story and is essential viewing in every sense of the word. Don't miss it!
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Undeniably amongst the most powerful, provocative & pragmatic narratives to surface on the silver screen in recent years, Mustang is a beautifully balanced blend of skillful direction, sensible writing & terrific performances that takes a much-needed dig at patriarchy & conservatism and also works as a joyful celebration of sisterhood.
Set in a small Turkish village, the story of Mustang follows five young orphaned sisters whose lives are changed completely when they are caught innocently playing with some boys on a beach, after which their conservative family bars them from going to school anymore and begins marrying them off one by one without their consent.
Co-written & directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven in what is actually her feature film debut, Mustang takes only a few minutes to establish the strong bond between the siblings before stepping into the realm of absurd social & cultural restraints that snatches away their freedom in the blink of an eye and every restriction imposed upon them turns out to be both nonsensical & unnerving.
The screenplay is no slouch either for it packs in an engaging storyline that smoothly unfolds over the course of its runtime and is filled with meaty characters whose arcs are well-defined plus they exhibit surprising depths. Ergüven's never goes in-your-face with her critical stance on orthodox mentality but simply exposes the challenges women face when growing up in such communities.
The technical aspects are thoroughly refined and work in harmony to further uplift the film's tone & ambiance to its desired level. Camera is expertly utilised, always keeping its focus on the relevant characters, while the bright colour palette reflects the strength & joy the sisters find in each other's company even in the bleakest of circumstances. And editing is immaculately carried out as well for every sequence plays a vital role in the story.
Coming to the performances, Mustang features a relatively inexperienced cast but the contribution from the five girls who play siblings in this feature is a highlight in itself. The scripted characters do have some flesh on them, thus providing a solid platform for the actors to built their performances upon but they further up the ante by delivering wonderfully layered & highly convincing inputs that makes all the relevant characters in the film stand out.
The story is told from the perspective of Lale, the youngest of the five siblings, and it's through her eyes that we witness the injustice she & her sisters are subjected to yet what keeps them together is their common passion for freedom & constant pursuit of ways to bypass the restrictions imposed upon them by the elders. And it is this rebellious nature that slowly accumulates as plot progresses & finally concludes with an act of self-preservation that finishes the tale on a hopeful note.
On an overall scale, Mustang is an ingeniously crafted, meticulously layered & deftly measured cinema that's engaging, entertaining & enlightening on more levels than one and for a first time filmmaker, it's an incredibly polished effort. Ergüven's direction exudes both confidence & composure and the story as a whole manages to make its voice heard loud & clear. A fearless celebration of womanhood & a heartfelt rendition of the indomitable will of human spirit, Mustang is a timely & welcome coming- of-age story and is essential viewing in every sense of the word. Don't miss it!