By casting a critical eye on her birthplace and depicting the inherent misogyny of a sexually repressed patriarchy, Ergüven has created a powerful piece of protest art.

| Jul 20, 2023

Few movies have held my heart in its hands like “Mustang”.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 24, 2022

It was a savvy move for Erguven to set her debut feature in Turkey, a country that straddles Europe and Asia, idealistically and spiritually torn between the East and West, the old world and the new, 21st-century free will and millenniums of tradition.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 18, 2022

Though somewhat didactic in its attempt to highlight the malignancy of a certain type of Turkish patriarchy, Mustang's sheer gusto carries its message with unmistakable force.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 15, 2021

Lale and her four sisters are as skittish as the horse they collectively embody in director Deniz Gamze Ergüven's inflaming drama.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 14, 2021

The script is well-written, the director's eye is incredibly sharp, and the film's visuals are aesthetically moving.

| Feb 9, 2021

Mustang is a movie about people that tells a story and captures a set of feelings. It's like a lot of movies in that way and like very few in its powerful successes.

| Jan 7, 2021

Ergüven imbues Mustang with the infectious spirit of youth and the casual assurance of a seasoned veteran.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 25, 2020

...a gritty, authentic-seeming drama that never quite manages to become as riveting as one might've hoped...

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Dec 15, 2019

The talent of the director is not only evident when it comes to directing the actors, but also when it comes to creating scenes with freshness that combine dramatic moments, followed by humorous ones [Full Review in Spanish]

| Aug 27, 2019

Fun is the heart of Mustang.

| Jul 2, 2019

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.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 2, 2019

It's an intriguing and, despite its subject, a positive and even at times light-hearted story of female empowerment from a talented new director.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 21, 2019

In a cinematic year filled with excellent stories about young women growing up...Mustang is the best coming-of-age film in 2015.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 9, 2019

With a film that uses its opening scenes to show what a force of nature these young girls can be, it's Erugven who demonstrates she's one to be reckoned with herself.

| Nov 13, 2018

The heroines and villains of Mustang are occasionally black and white, but it's an assured directorial debut that uses its autobiographical elements not to engage in navel-gazing, but to train that gaze on a repressive society.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 28, 2018

It's a story both modern and timeless, an aching ode to freedom and resilience, and a stunning debut.

| Aug 27, 2018

Employing a palette of simple yet elegant binary motifs - day/night, light/dark - Ergüven constructs her own powerful and distinct emotional language through a confident and captivating formal style.

| Aug 25, 2018

While Mustang's story is simple and sometimes too neat, it has the zing and energy of life, starting with Ergven's shooting and editing style.

| May 16, 2018

... it's a sour mix that seems calculated to play better on the Upper West Side and Paris' Left Bank than in Ankara.

| Feb 15, 2018