Mustang * * * *

Five Mustangs and no Sally!?

There is a scene in Mustang where the television is on in the background and you can hear the Turkish President's speech in regard to how women should conduct themselves.

  I don’t know much about Turkey so I’ll watch my words, but I get the impression that it’s a place which is not as beautiful to live in as it is to visit.  Especially if you are woman.  I get the impression it can be quite misleading, with women dressing rather similarly as they do in other countries,whilst being subjugated and oppressed by family, religion and culture.

  Mustang has received a lot of praise for its bravery and defiance.  Personally I felt that the effectiveness of its message came from evoking a classic familiar source.  

  Mustang actually made me think of a fairy tale or a classic children's book  complete with five sisters locked up in a big house with a wicked old lady and cruel Uncle, and being forced to marry colourless dull local boys.  As the story progresses we focus more upon the younger of the sisters - the most rebellious of them.   As in many of these stories, help comes not from a knight in armour but from an unassuming young man.       

In interviews the director, Deniz Erguven says that the Turkish authorities are not too pleased with her film. But with much praise and many an award she has probably done more for Turkish Culture than any of her detractors.