Beautifully shot, with stunning performances by its young cast, the Oscar-nominated Mustang is both a rousing tale of spirited youth and a powerful, moving and timely work of engaging social cinema. It’s the beginning of summer.
In a small village in northern Turkey, Lale and her four sisters are on their way home from school, innocently playing with local boys. But prying village eyes view their games with suspicion and the girls’ behaviour – and refusal to repent – quickly causes a scandal among the family. Soon the sisters find themselves locked in their bedrooms, with sober dress enforced and their schoolwork replaced by cookery classes.
Their home now a prison all the girls have to live for are arranged marriages and family honour. But together, driven by strength, courage and a desire for freedom, the five sisters fight back against the limits imposed on them and test their family ties to breaking point.
Drawing vocal support from critics, festivals and audiences across the globe, this highly impressive debut from director Deniz Gamze Ergüven has become one of the most talked-about and celebrated films of the year.
The cast is phenomenal. 13-year-old newcomer Güneş Şensoy (main picture) deserves a special mention: it is her performance as the youngest sister Lale, which drives the story. The film’s beautiful cinematography and brilliant soundtrack all add to making this an extraordinary film.
Since making its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, the film has picked up a host of prestigious awards. It won four prizes at the 2016 César Awards (France’s Oscars) including Best Original Screenplay and Best First Feature Film, the Goya Award for Best European Film, and was nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes.
Distributed in the UK by Curzon Artificial Eye, Mustang is screening in select cinemas across Britain and also available on video-on-demand from this Friday, 13 May 2016. It’s out on DVD and Blu-ray on 11 July.
Film: Mustang
Genre & Certificate: Drama, 15
Duration: 94 Mins
Languages: Turkish with English subtitles
Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Cast:
- Günes Nezihe Sensoy: Lale
- Doga Zeynep Doguslu: Nur
- Elit Iscan: Ece
- Tugba Sunguroglu: Selma
- Ilayda Akdogan:
- Sonay
- Erol Afsin: Osman
- Nihal Koldas: Grandmother Ayberk
- Pekcan: Erol
