Mustang 2015

In a sunlit, close-knit Turkish village, the film centers on Lale, the youngest of five sisters, and the quiet tension that gathers as tradition and budding desires collide. The day begins with a simple farewell: Lale watches her teacher leave for Istanbul, and the sisters decide to walk home together instead of taking a van. What starts as a carefree moment soon reveals the undercurrent of strict rules that will govern their days. On the way, they join a playful “chicken fight” with their male classmates on the beach, a scene that showcases their desire for connection and a sense of freedom. But the moment is swiftly interrupted by a stern reaction from the elders: their grandmother chastises them for any bodily contact with boys and even for self-exploration, and their uncle Erol’s furious outburst makes the atmosphere feel heavy with fear. From that point, the girls are forbidden to leave the house.

The household shifts into a stricter rhythm as the grandmother attempts to mold the girls into suitable, marriageable brides. In public, the sisters must dress in drab, conservative clothing, and they are kept home to learn traditional skills—cooking, cleaning, and sewing from their female relatives. The family’s plan is practical in their eyes, but it tightens the sisters’ sense of autonomy. Even so, the eldest sister Sonay stubbornly slips out now and then to meet her lover, signaling that rebellion will not be easily contained. Lale, who has a passion for football, faces the harshest prohibition: she is forbidden from attending Trabzonspor matches. Her longing persists, and she hatches a plan to attend a match that men are banned from due to hooliganism. The rumor that the village girls will travel together by bus reaches their ears, and the sisters secretly decide to join.

The day arrives for the girls to sneak out with Lale. After they miss the bus, a passing truck driver named Yasin offers a lifeline and helps them catch up to the convoy. What follows is a rare slice of female camaraderie as they arrive to the stadium and find themselves in the all-female section, cheering with a fervor that feels like a breath of wind through the stifling house. The moment is all the more striking because their aunt, watching on television, realizes what’s happening and, as Erol and the village men prepare to tune in, cuts the electricity—first in their home, then, to prevent any further discovery, the whole village’s power.

Returning home, the consequences are swift. The grandmother, determined to secure their futures, arranges for the sisters to be married off and taken to town under the guise of “getting lemonade,” a pretext used to show them to potential suitors. One by one, suitors appear, and the dynamics of power in the family shift. Sonay declares she will marry only her lover and refuses to meet the arranged matches; Selma is engaged to a prospective fiancé. Sonay’s engagement to her lover and Selma’s engagement mark a superficial triumph for the family, even as Sonay appears happy and Selma feels a growing unease. The films’ quiet, intimate tone makes the ceremonial magnitudes feel almost ritualistic.

The second wedding unfolds in a more troubling way. At Selma’s wedding night, the in-laws insist on a traditional virginity test by examining the bedsheets for blood. With no blood, her status is questioned, and she is taken to a physician for a formal virginity check. This moment underscores the harsh rituals that gatekeep a woman’s place in the family, a theme the film revisits with unsparing honesty.

Meanwhile, the third sister, Ece, becomes entangled in a far more disturbing danger. Ece endures sexual abuse at night by Erol. When the three remaining sisters encounter Erol near the bank, Ece, in a moment of desperation, consents to a sexual encounter with a boy in a car. The episode deepens the sense of danger surrounding the sisters, and it casts a shadow over the family’s outward pieties. Back at home, Ece’s behavior at the lunch table—playful, almost mocking—draws laughter from her sisters, but she is told to go to her room, where a tragic silence follows. Ece dies by suicide, and the family comes together to mourn her loss, the funeral marking a turning point in the story’s emotional weight.

With Ece’s death, Nur and Lale remain the last two daughters still largely confined within the house and its walls. Lale’s urge to escape persists, and she continues to sneak out whenever possible. In a pivotal, humane moment, she meets Yasin again and learns from him how to drive, a skill that could one day become a lifeline. Yet every attempt to slip away is met with a harsher response from the family, who install bars on the windows to keep the girls from leaving. The threat to Nur grows louder as Erol’s violence shifts toward her, and the grandmother finally acknowledges that Nur, though young, must also be married off. A new engagement is arranged, heightening the sense that the family’s grip will close firmly around the remaining sisters.

On the night of Nur’s impending wedding, Lale’s courage crystallizes. She helps the sisters resist the pressure, and the five siblings barricade themselves inside their home. The wedding party outside grows increasingly desperate, while Erol’s attempts to intrude become more aggressive. Desperate for a way out, Lale discovers a hidden phone in a cupboard and uses it to call Yasin for help. The sisters pool their resources, grab what they can, and seize Erol’s car keys, staging a dangerous yet hopeful escape. Their plan culminates in a car crash close to their house, a stark reminder of how fragile their chance for freedom is.

Yasin returns to the scene, picking them up and driving them to a bus station, where a new journey begins. The girls board a bus to Istanbul, the city that represents an open horizon beyond the village’s walls. They reunite with their former teacher, whose warm welcome and encouragement signal a new beginning. In the teacher’s company, the sisters glimpse a future where they can once again choose their own paths, even as they carry the weight of the trials they endured. The film closes on a note of cautious hope, tracing how resilience and solidarity can endure even within a system designed to keep young women confined, and how the bond between sisters can become the most enduring force for seeking freedom.