Mustang Film Difficulty Ranking: 2
If you love coming-of-age films like I do then you will love this film. It has all the qualities of a classic family film but with a bit more grit. You’ll learn about the fierce patriarchy in Turkey and the freedom that girls lose when they become women. A nominee at Cannes and the Academy Awards go watch this – it’s on Amazon Prime.
As with most trailers, you’ll get spoilers after the first 30 secs.
Why Watch Mustang?
- To experience what it is like growing up as a young girl in a patriarchy
- It’s another great coming-of-age film (for more great coming of age films check out Colours of the Mountain, Kikujiro, or Girlhood)
- If you have young kids or plan to have kids
- Learn how important football is!
The Breakdown
“It’s like everything changed in the blink of an eye. One moment we were fine, then everything turned to shit”
In the blink of an eye, 5 sisters living in rural Turkey transformed from innocent kids into guardians of their families honour.
After school, instead of getting on the bus home, all of the sisters went to the beach with some of their fellow classmates. They all played together in the sea and had shoulder fights then stole some apples from a nearby orchard. A bunch of innocent fun. They are free.
But their freedom is curtailed by a gossiping neighbour who tells the girl’s grandma that they were rubbing their private parts on boys necks in the sea. And with that, their innocence is lost forever.
Conclusion
Mustang reminds me of the great kids films such as The Little Princess which keep you emotionally invested until the end of the film. However, this contains a bit more political weight. Director Deniz Gamze Erguven’s intention was to uncover to women issue in Turkey. A must watch!
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