Author: Kalena Tamura
The Turkish film “Mustang,” directed by Deniz Erguven, centers on the lives of five orphaned sisters from a small conservative village in northern Turkey. Based on a number of events from Erguven’s own personal life, the film courageously battles topics of arranged marriage, rape, and the normalization of suppressed female sexuality in the face of a patriarchal society. In a depiction that is both stunning and timely, the film delivers an honest message via the voices of five sisters who have never acted before, but who know what it means to grow up as a young girl in a conservative society — how it shapes character, how it tests resilience, and how it teaches the inexhaustible strength of familial unity. Ultimately the film’s strongest achievement is not its accurate portrayal of cultural tension and the pressing hardships young Turkish women must face, but its representation of female characters as determined, intelligent, compassionate and most of all human.
Huge thanks to the very talented and well-written, Kalena Tamura, for sharing this Guest Review! Kalena is also a Film & Television minor at UCLA and is constantly giving me new, exciting content to watch. This will be next-up on my watch-list for movies, and I’m guessing it’s on yours now too.
Extra Things to Know –
How to Watch: Netflix (At the moment)
Release Date: 17 June 2015
To see more of Kalena’s art / writing / coolness, check out her website: here!
Once again, if you have a TV show, film, or any type of visual art that you would like to write a review on, please reach out to me! Feel free to shoot me an email, and let your inner television/film geek run free!
