Two years after Sonne, Austrian-Kurdish director Kurdwin Ayub returns with the second film in her Sun-Moon-Stars trilogy. At the heart of the story is Sarah, a former mixed martial arts fighter whose competitive career has come to an end. Seeing no future for herself in her small Austrian village, she accepts an offer from a wealthy Jordanian family to train their three daughters. However, Sarah soon realizes that the women live under constant surveillance, cut off from the outside world, and have little interest in the sport. By the time she understands the precarious situation she’s walked into, it’s too late to leave. Ayub tells her narrative elliptically, with music playing a pivotal role in the unfolding of the story. But above all, Mond is a striking showcase of the sharp, provocative sarcasm that has become the filmmaker’s signature.
