Mustang (2015)

A deeply affecting tale of sisterhood and rebellion.

Cinematography by: David Chizallet & Ersin Gok

Country: Turkey / France / Germany / Qatar

A powerfully moving Turkish coming-of-age tale about five rebellious sisters squaring off against patriarchy and the oppressive rules it set in place. In her feature directorial debut, Deniz Gamze Ergüven directs the film with complete confidence, drawing forth exceptional performances from her young cast, where a look between two characters speaks a thousand words, underscoring the protagonists’ invulnerable bond of sisterhood.

Ergüven also expertly displays the girls’ effervescent spirit and mischievous resistance to authority while grounding the story as a whole in what’s often a grim reality full of autocratic adults with iron-fisted rules. We can see this same tone visually represented in Chizallet and Gok’s cinematography, where it’s all glittering sun, and beams of light cutting through the dark. One of the best films of 2015.