'Mustang' a metaphor for cultural obedience, familial oppression
The title "Mustang" in Deniz Gamze Erguven's feminist drama undoubtedly refers to Lale (Gunes Sensoy), the youngest and most rebellious of five orphaned sisters whose independence and free spirits run afoul of social norms and acceptance in modern-day Turkey.
We get to know the sisters as they begin summer break by goofing off at the beach, flirting with boys, then boosting a few illicit apples from a farmer's orchard.
Word of the girls' "wild" behavior reaches their old-school grandmother (Nihal Koldas) and their conservative Uncle Erol (Ayberk Pekcan), who instantly hit the moral and (mostly) social panic button.
They force the sisters to take medical exams to assure that they have not been ruined for marriage. (They have not, as they asserted.)
Next come locks on all the doors and bars over the windows of their rooms. Anything that might corrupt girls - phones, computers, music devices - is confiscated. Feminine, youthful clothing suddenly becomes shapeless, dowdy outfits.
Next, Erol and granny begin to marry off the sisters, one by one in what Lale (who also provides lazy voice-over narration) refers to as a "wife factory."
Clearly, all the sisters qualify as a mustang, running free with their long hair blowing in the wind like wild manes. The legal guardians separate the eldest, Sonay (Ilayda Akdogan), from the herd to better direct her into traditional roles of wife and housekeeper.
Lale sees what's happening. She will have none of it. Will she be able to stage a social jail break, before it's too late?
"Mustang" tells an unusual story of oppression, not one involving political parties, but parental authority figures willing to break the spirits of young girls to ensure social and cultural obedience.
Erguven, an actress as well as a writer and director, presents a quiet, keenly observed drama that gently unfolds at its proper pace. It avoids the stock characters and cliched plottings of Hollywood coming-of-age movies by letting Lale and her older siblings reveal themselves through authentically realistic, sisterly interactions.
If Warren Ellis' score is something of a snooze, at least it doesn't artificially inflate our emotional connections to these characters played by actors with no previous performing experience, save for Instanbul-born Elit Iscan, as sister Ece.
<h3 class="briefhead">Critics notebook:</h3>
Oh, oh! Things don't look so good for Robert De Niro's new domestic comedy, "Dirty Grandpa." Distributor Lionsgate this week decided film critics will be barred from a Jan. 19 screening originally set up to include the press. De Niro plays the titular role of Dick, the foul-mouthed grandfather of Zac Efron, tricked into driving the old man to Daytona for spring break.
"Dirty Grandpa," opening Jan. 22, is rated R for "crude sexual content throughout, graphic nudity." Let's hope that last part doesn't involve De Niro.
The League of Women Voters (specifically of Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Prospect Heights and Elk Grove Village) presents a special showing of Ava DuVernay's Oscar-snubbed 2014 drama "Selma" (except for best original song).
"Selma" will be screened at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 18, at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights.
The movie traces the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis and others. The project is notable for its masterful rewriting of King's original speeches that had been licensed to DreamWorks and Warner Bros. for a future Steven Spielberg production.
DuVernay rewrote an estimated 90 percent of Paul Webb's original screenplay to avoid copyright infringement. Yet, the words from David Oyelowo's King sound as powerful and organic as the original texts. Contact graham847@gmail.com with questions.
Every year the Catlow Theater sells out its annual Oscar-nominated Short Films Festival, so grab your tickets now at thecatlow.com. The nominated Animated & Live Action Shorts will be shown at 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 27. Admission $10.
No passes will be accepted. No phone orders. You must purchase tickets online or in person at Boloney's Sandwich Shop, next to the Catlow, 116 W. Main St., Barrington.
"Mustang"
★ ★ ★
Opens at selected theaters. Rated PG-13 for sexual situations, a rude gesture. In Turkish with subtitles. 97 minutes.