Mustang (2015)

When five orphan girls are seen innocently playing with boys on a beach, their scandalized conservative guardians confine them while forced marriages are arranged.

Director:

Deniz Gamze Ergüven

Writers:

Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour

Stars:

Günes Sensoy, Doga Zeynep Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 42 wins & 58 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Günes Sensoy	...	Lale
Doga Zeynep Doguslu	...	Nur
Tugba Sunguroglu	...	Selma
Elit Iscan	...	Ece
Ilayda Akdogan	...	Sonay
Nihal G. Koldas	...	The Grandmother (as Nihal Koldas)
Ayberk Pekcan	...	Erol
Bahar Kerimoglu	...	Dilek
Burak Yigit	...	Yasin
Erol Afsin	...	Osman
Suzanne Marrot	...	Aunt Hanife
Serife Kara	...	The Great-Aunt
Aynur Komecoglu	...	Aunt Emine
Sevval Aydin	...	Erin
Enes Sürüm	...	Ekin

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

forced marriage | teen suicide | orphan | f rated | anal sex | 

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Taglines:

Their spirit would never be broken

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content and a rude gesture

Details

Official Sites:

Facebook [UK] Official Facebook (Turkish)

Country:

France Germany Turkey Qatar

Language:

Turkish

Release Date:

17 June 2015 (France)

Also Known As:

Mustang: Belleza salvaje

Filming Locations:

Inebolu, Kastamonu, Turkey

Box Office

Budget:

€1,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,151, 22 November 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$845,464

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,915,624

Company Credits

Production Co:

CG Cinéma, Vistamar Filmproduktion, Uhlandfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (as Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shortly before making the film director Deniz Gamze Ergüven learned she was pregnant. When she informed her lead producer of this fact she told Ergüven that she would no longer be producing the movie and went ahead and informed the other producers, investors and crew members that Ergüven was pregnant and that the movie would be a disaster. Despite this other producers stepped forward and the movie was successfully shot and completed during Ergüven's pregnancy.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Lale: The house became a wife factory that we never came out of.

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Connections

Referenced in Filmbarátok Podcast: Episode #1.91 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Yüksek Yüksek Tepeler
(Anonymous)
Performed by Selim Sesler
© Public Domain
(p) 2006 Pozitif Müzik Yamm
Label: Doublemoon Records / www.doublemoon.com.tr

User Reviews

A well deserved punch in the stomach of conservatism

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.