A sun-drenched, claustrophobic fable of girlhood resistance. Against the backdrop of a conservative Turkish village, five sisters' innocent joy is suffocated by patriarchal walls, turning their home into a prison of arranged marriages and tragedy.
Mustang
"Their spirit would never be broken."
Director:
Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Cast:
Güneş Nezihe Şensoy, Doğa Zeynep Doğuşlu, Elit İşcan, Tuğba Sunguroğlu, Ilayda Akdoğan
Drama
Budget:
$1,300,000
Box Office:
$5,300,000
Mustang - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
Easter Eggs
The 'Virgin Suicides' Parallel
While director Ergüven denies it as a direct adaptation, the film contains numerous visual and thematic nods to Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides (1999), particularly the shots of the sisters sprawling together with tangled limbs and hair, and the narrative of five sisters trapped by strict parents.
Real Football Match Broadcast
The football match the girls sneak out to see plays actual commentary from the 2011 game where only women and children were present, grounding the film's fairy-tale atmosphere in a specific Turkish socio-political reality.