| Flicks

FLICKS: Mustang, Closed Season & Brooklyn

Posted on 14 January 2016 by LeslieM

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

The awards season is peaking today with the Oscar nominations announcement. While films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens dominate the box office, this awards season provides unique opportunities to view eclectic movies.

Besides being a Golden Globe nominee, Mustang, which opens tomorrow in select theaters, is France’s submission to the Oscar’s Best Foreign Language motion picture nomination. Set in Turkey, Mustang follows the misadventures of five teenage sisters.

Trouble begins when the girls are seen frolicking on the beach with some boys. While the play seems innocent enough, the incident causes a scandal in the neighborhood. Things go from bad to worse as the family elders take Draconian measures to keep the girls in line.

[The girls seek to escape their repressive household where they are expected to stay virginal and spend time preparing to be good wives. Traditions seen in this film mirror everyday reality for many in that region.]

In a strange way, Mustang made me think about two Clint Eastwood movies. In Unforgiven, a personal incident is mishandled and eventually explodes into a full scale civil war. In Mustang, the girls’ claustrophobic relationship echoes that in The Beguiled. Even though it is presented as tragedy, there are moments of joy in Mustang that recall the innocence of films from France’s legendary director, Francois Truffaut.

One of Truffaut’s contemporaries was Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman, whose dramas confronted family secrets. Opening tomorrow, Closed Season, directed by Franziska Schlotterer, shares DNA with the Bergman universe. Set in the Black Forest of Germany, a childless couple hides a Jewish refugee on their farm, circa 1942. One day, the infertile husband suggests that his wife conceive a child with the refugee. Things get complicated after conception occurs.

On a lighter note, Brooklyn recently left the big screen and will soon be available on DVD. Saoirse Ronan portrays an Irish immigrant who comes to America to live a better life. This delightful film features a fine ensemble cast and was screened at the recent Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. If Brooklyn is recognized by the Academy, expect a return to the big screen.

Comments are closed.

Advertise Here
Advertise Here