mdolla: At What Cost Does It Take To Gain Freedom?

A film showing its rooted sense of place and community, and rebellious spirit, Mustang is an accomplished and engaging debut of what still goes on in the lives of young girls today. It is a must watch for those who want to know more about other communities that are still engaging in age old traditions and the consequences that it can have on the generations after.

Five innocent young girls from in a Turkish village just want to have fun. They want to go to the beach, hook up with boys, and marry who they want. But the society they live in won’t have any of that. They are subjected to a life of servitude, and there is no one to rescue them; no prince is charming.

After bidding their teacher, who is moving to Istanbul, an emotional farewell, five orphaned sisters decided to have a little fun. They went to the beach and played with boys, who carried them on their backs. When their grandmother hears about it, she scolds them for behaving like whores and locks them up in the house, to begin preparing them to be marriage. But the girls want to have a life of their own. They want to marry people they love, drive a car, wear cute clothes, go watch a football match, and kiss boys. But their grandmother and uncle won’t have that. Freedom is expensive in this Turkish village. The fear of losing their freedom forces them to initiate dangerous plans to escape.

The struggle for freedom

Mustang is a Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated movie about the struggle to attain freedom. Every human being wants to be free to decide what they do with their lives. Five orphaned girls living in a Turkish village get to realize that the society in which they live can have a severe impact and consequence on their future. The movie also discusses young love as the oldest sister, Sonay, sneaks out every time to meet her lover. Another critical subject the film deals with the issue of sexual molestation of little girls by an older man. Erol, their uncle, continually harasses the girls. What makes it even worse is that their grandmother, knows about it, but won’t say anything.

Lost of innocence

There is also the issue of child marriage. The grandmother believes that marrying off the girls at a tender age saves them from falling into immorality, something the whole village upholds as a virtue. Mustang is a sad reminder of the kind of world children around the world are forced to live in. It is also full of fun, laughs, cries, and hope. Mustang is recommended for everyone who loves freedom and everything that comes with it.

We encourage you to save and watch this movie. It is a sad story about the reality that millions of girls around the world still live in today.