Early summer in a village in Northern Turkey, five free-spirited teenaged sisters splash about on the beach with their male classmates. Though their games are merely innocent fun, a neighbor passes by and reports what she considers to be illicit behavior to the girls’ family. The family overreacts, removing all “instruments of corruption,” like cell phones and computers, and essentially imprisoning the girls, subjecting them to endless lessons in housework in preparation for them to become brides. As the eldest sisters are married off, the younger ones bond together to avoid the same fate. The fierce love between them empowers them to rebel and chase a future where they can determine their own lives in Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s debut, a powerful portrait of female empowerment.

Mustang is a very emotionally gripping, and somewhat relevant, foreign film about five sisters who struggle alongside the hardships of living under a tyrannical family. Fiercely feminine with a golden heart and a collective attitude, this sisterhood captivates a strong devotional family bond. This is executed with the urgency of much needed women’s rights in the eastern world with a western sensibility. In a very brisk 97 minutes, the sisters experience life’s joys and traumas with unexpected twists, dark circumstances, and (occasionally) some joyful moments.

Fiercely feminine with a golden heart and a collective attitude, this sisterhood captivates a strong devotional family bond.

The strongest element about Mustang is the top-notch acting especially from the ensemble made primarily of teenager actresses. Typically, actors/actresses going through the transitional period of puberty act awkwardly as their bodies change. This is not the case with these teenage actresses. They deliver near flawless performances in such a believable manner. Audiences, especially female ones, will be captivated with the human drama. A fun scene involves the sister’s attending a soccer game that bans male fans from attending. Writer/director Deniz Gamze Ergüven infuses the best storytelling elements of character development and arc with the mature and disciplined acting of .

My initially viewing of Mustang left me feeling cold because I had serious issues with the third act. After a second viewing, Mustang not only holds up, but I realized how vital and impactful these moments truly enhanced the storytelling. Once I was able to process these plot developments, I found the ending to be somewhat redemptive. Without revealing too much, Mustang would make an interesting double feature alongside Disney Pixar’s Inside Out. France chose to submit this movie to qualify for the Oscars over the Cannes award winning Dheepan. It was the right call since Mustang received a very worthy Best Foreign Language Oscar nomination.