The Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (Directors’ Fortnight) during the Cannes festival is a parallel selection to the official one, more relaxed and without a competition. Mustang was one of those movies presented at Cannes this year. In Turkey, 5 sisters and their male friends go to the beach after school to hang out. When they return home to their grandmother and uncle, they learn the consequences of their escapade the hard way.
Deniz Gamze Ergüven has shown a light on a very sensitive subject. This Turkish movie is powerful and depicts the reality of some countries, that forced marriage is still something that happens nowadays. It’s really unsettling to witness those 5 independent, free-thinking girls being caged because they wanted to have fun with their friends from school. The downfall is quite frightening, and with each attempt to break the rules imposed on them, a new obstacle arises: They’re not allowed their personal belongings, bars are installed on their window, walls are made higher … They end up imprisoned in their own house and the only official way out is by being married.
With each sister, the situation is slightly different as if Erguven wanted to show us every facet of arranged marriage. One is already in love and instead of her family imposing a husband on her, she finds a way to marry someone she is already dating secretly. Another is just forced to be married to someone she doesn’t know, another kills herself before her wedding, and as the second to last one, who got raped by her uncle, is about to be given away, her and the littlest, Lale, succeed in running away and recover their freedom. That scene was so shocking, being forced to run away from your home, out of fear for your life and because you have no control over it.
Those scenes hold such a realism that as a member of the audience I also feel trapped under the influence of this patriarchal tyranny. Additionally, seeing the women in their entourage teaching them how to be the perfect wife, is shocking to my western European eye. Those girls went to school, and even if they got an incomplete education, they have enough knowledge to know they don’t want to be married. However, there’s still many girls that are not given an education and are indoctrinated into thinking their only purpose is to be submissive to their future husbands.
Mustang also holds a message of freedom directed to women. Despite everything that is thrown into those sisters’ lives, they still fight to be free. They go to football matches, play together, pretend they are free to go out… They always fight to be themselves, even if it means running away or even committing suicide in order to not be miserable all their lives.
The real question is what needs to be done for those situations to never happen again? Even when it’s illegal, families still find ways to set up arranged marriages. It’s deeply rooted in some cultures and tradition and not just in Turkey, as there’s still many countries where this practice continues. Those women deserve more than being caged and being forbidden to be themselves. They should be able to get married if they want to, when they want to, and to whomever they choose.
Mustang is definitely a movie worth seeing, on a subject that should be more talked about. Yes from where I am there isn’t much I can do, but I guess change begins when you start talking about it.
Rating: 5/5
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