Mustang is impeccably structured. Nothing is gratuitous; each moment is conceived as part of the whole and contributes to the increasingly haunting narrative. Seemingly throwaway occurrences and lines become vital to our sense of the sisters’ choked existence. The actors flawlessly inhabit their characters, especially Sensoy.

The cinematography is as eloquent as it is beautiful, with sweeping landscape shots conveying the heroines’ isolation and amplifying the menace that builds throughout. The final minutes are taut with threat, but this is no horror movie; it’s a crucial insight into one form of very real horror taking place in the world today.

A celebration of authentic sisterhood and a rousing social commentary, Mustang joins its sisters (Little and Skinny) to form an extraordinary and essential trifecta on siblings and life itself.

RATING: 4/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Günes Sensoy, Doga Zeynep Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu, Elit Iscan

DIRECTOR: Deniz Gamze Ergüven

WRITERS: Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour

SYNOPSIS: When five orphan girls are seen innocently playing with boys on a beach, their scandalized conservative guardians confine them while forced marriages are arranged.