In a small Turkish seaside village, five orphaned, school-age sisters live under the care of their traditional grandmother and uncle. The girls' free spirits lead their elders to force them into a domestic prison and prepare them for arranged marriages.At first glance, one is tempted to compare this film to "Fiddler on the Roof". They both involve five young sisters who have no brothers and the main plot point is to have the girls "married off" according to cultural customs that are outdated and oppressive. The main difference is that in "Fiddler", the villains are outside the family and community; in "Mustang", they are within. (It is also easy to compare this story to "Pride and Prejudice".)Director Deniz Gamze Erguven has done a superb job with her directing debut as she conveys an atmosphere of young, happy spirits conflicting with depressing circumstances. She elicits fine performances especially from Gunes Sansoy as the youngest and most rebellious sister. But the greatest contribution to "Mustang" is its rich screenplay co-written by Erguven and Alice Winocour. It has many gems worth pondering. These include: a beginning and end that meet full circle in a surprising way; a different fate for each of the girls; a bizarre scene in which a bride's virginity is aggressively confirmed. (It might have been hilarious if it weren't so frighteningly close to the truth in many areas of the world - past and present); a scene in which someone "turns lemons into lemonade", using a very bad situation to their advantage.There are also some interesting characterizations in the smaller roles. The grandmother is tyrannical overall (though not nearly as bad as the uncle) but she occasionally shows that she really cares for the girls' well-being. This is best shown in a funny scene involving a televised soccer match. Her sympathies cause an inner-conflict as she has to save face to hold good standing within an oppressive community.Another interesting character is a laid-back, long-haired truck driver. His appearance makes him an outsider; yet, his treatment of women and girls makes him far more pious than certain hypocrites who claim piety.With its broad variety of drama, sadness, humour, lightness, plus a very emotional ending, "Mustang" is truly one of the best films released in 2015.OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Screenplay by Deniz Gamze Erguven and Alice Winocour

I've read the summary on IMDb as well as on Netflix and neither really does this film or its story any justice. It's not just a film about a traditional family forcing their girls into marriages...it's far, far more sinister and evil. Judging by the Netflix summary, it sounds like a comedy...and the film is instead tense, edgy and terrifying at times...not exactly the stuff of comedy!!The film begins with four sisters (they appear to me to be from about ages 11-16) playing in the water with some boys. But this is occurring in a very traditional part of Turkey...one where innocent play like this is interpreted as evil and sensual. As a result of the family's perceived shame, the grandmother and especially her incredibly malevolent son, decide to crack down on the girls. Instead of continuing in school, the girls are given crash courses in being wives...and the plan is to very quickly marry them off...even despite some of them being incredibly young. What happens next...well, it's something you should see for yourself.My daughter saw this film at a film festival and she talked to me about it. When she talked with other patrons, she was surprised how women perceived that the girls had been sexually abused by the uncle...whereas men who saw the film didn't get that same impression. I DID think this was the case (probably because of my experience as a therapist dealing with rape victims) but regardless of what he MIGHT have done, what he did do was horrible. The film is an unflinching indictment of traditionalist culture--one where women are essentially powerless. Having been made by an expat from this culture, it has a style and story that seem true and shocking. Very well made and well worth seeing, though the story is anything but fun despite the first 20 minutes or so of the film which is rather light-hearted. Instead, at times, it's heartbreaking and sad....very sad.

Like the digits of a hand, these sisters are one. Their love and bond for one another is pure and complete brought closer together by the tragic loss of their parents and the harsh new realities of a life under the rule of the patriarchal and traditionalist uncle who sets out to arrange marriages for all of them as he fears the local society's judgement on their supposed transgressions which are amplified in his censorious mind. An emotively charged story unfolds in a film with truly mesmerising acting by all girls alike under the direction of what one would expect to be a master filmmaker yet only her first full feature film.

Sisters Lale, Nur, Selma, Ece, and Sonay are orphans living with their grandmother. They play with the boys on a beach and rumors spread in the conservative Turkish village. Their uncle takes them for a virginity test. Despite passing the test, the girls are locked in the house and stripped of their modern influences. They are forced to learn to be conservative wives. The oldest Sonay sneaks out to be with her boyfriend. The girls want to go to the football match but is forbidden despite being a women only event. They sneak out but when they return, their grandmother makes the house a prison and works to marry each one off. As the noose is tighten, the girls dream of escaping to Istanbul.It's not really "The Virgin Suicides" although it does follow a story with similarities. It has the reality of religious culture. The ensemble cast is good with a naturalistic style. There is a slow build tension. The cinematic intensity is not high enough for some of the scenes. There is an escape but again the tension is not raised high enough. It's a solid drama especially for the relative newcomers.