Director

Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović

Croatia, Brazil, USA, Slovenia | 2021 | 92 min | Croatian, English

• Producer Danijel Pek, Rodrigo Teixeira
• Production Company Antitalent, RT Features, Spiritus Movens, SPOK Films
• Screenplay Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, Frank Graziano
• Cinematography Hélène Louvart, Zoran Mikinčić-Budin
• Editing Vladimir Gojun
• Sound Julij Zornik
• Cast Gracija Filipović, Danica Čurčić, Leon Lučev, Cliff Curtis
• Contacts

  The Match Factory sales@matchfactory.de
  

About the Film

Croatian filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s Murina, is a mature and captivating cinematic debut. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the film follows Julia (Gracija Filipovic) who lives on a remote island with her mother Nela (Danica Curcic) and her father Ante (Leon Lucev). Set against the backdrop of the Adriatic sea, Murina explores the brooding currents of domestic life. Julia, still in the throes of girlhood, is increasingly confident in her sensuality, particularly as a way to provoke her domineering father Ante, for whom love is obedience. When her parents’ old friend Javier (Cliff Curtis), an enigmatic and charming businessman, shows up, the family’s underlying tensions begin to bubble, kicking off a slow and inevitable explosion.

For the majority of the film, a tranquil tension reigns, lulling the viewer into complacency as the conflict between the characters manifests itself in glares, whispers, and small rebellions. When the climax finally arrives, the viewer is brusquely thrown into a state of urgency and fear. Here, one sees the maturity and confidence of Kusijanovic’s cinematic intuition. Rather than forcing the climax, she waits patiently for it, deftly turning Murina into a meditation on the internal tempo of conflict, on what it takes for people to reach their breaking point and gain their freedom. As the lady skinning the speared eel at the beginning of the film says: “Look how she bit her own flesh to set herself free.”

The thematic coherence and complexity of Murina is a testament to Kusijanovic’s quality as a storyteller and filmmaker. It is also a testament to the expressive stoicism of Murina’s actors as well as Hélène Louvart’s stripped-down and evocative cinematography. The film won the prestigious Caméra d’Or award at the 2021 Cannes Festival.

Nicole Guillemet