‘Murina’: Date, cast, plot and all the latest buzz around the award winning film
‘Murina’ is a Croatian film that stood out at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and also won the Cannes Camera d’Or award for Best First Feature Film. It then made rounds to several film festivals which also include the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). ‘Murina’ marks the directorial debut of Croatian filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović who has also written the script of this film in collaboration with Frank Graziano. The storyline of the film is based on Antoneta’s own short film titled ‘Into the Blue’.
The film has been executively produced by the iconic filmmaker and veteran star Martin Scorsese under his banner Sikelia productions. ‘Murina’ is releasing globally in theatres on July 8. Gracija Filipovic, Danica Curcic, Leon Lucev, Cliff Curtis, and others play key roles in the film.
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What is ‘Murina’ all about?
The storyline and plot of ‘Murina’ revolve around a young teenage girl named Julija (Gracija Filipovic). She rebels against her parents Nela (Danica Curcic) and Ante (Leon Lucev) to escape their domineering ways and cruelty. She struggles with her late adolescence woes and problems which include desires to revolt against patriarchy, and escape reality alongside sexual desire. None of these things are made easier thanks to her over-dominating family and then the arrival of her father’s friend Javier (Cliff Curtis) changes Julija’s entire world drastically.
The trailer of ‘Murina’ reveals how it’s mainly focusing on Julija as the main protagonist who spends her days swimming around. She also gets into a conflict and heated argument with her mother Nela over her passive behavior towards her father Ante’s cruelty and wishes. But things get worse with arrival of Javier (Cliff Curtis) which deepens the dent in their mother-daughter relationship.
The official synopsis reads, “On a remote island along Croatia’s Adriatic coast, 17-year-old Julija spends her days diving for eel with her domineering father Ante and watching other teens party on a nearby yacht. Julija bristles at Ante’s heavy handed cruelty and resents her mother Nela’s passivity. She longs for independence but is unsure how to achieve it, until the arrival of the rich and mysterious Javier seems to offer a way out. Javier is considering buying Ante’s land to build a resort, which would allow the family to escape their island isolation for the city. Once Ante’s employer and Nela’s lover, Javier flirts shamelessly with Nela and Julija, setting off a subtle battle of hypermasculine one-upmanship that pushes Ante to humiliate and control Julija even more. Flattered by Javier’s praise and stories of traveling the world, Julija sees him as the solution to all her problems. But does his affection portend freedom, or something more sinister?”.
Who stars in ‘Murina’?
The following actors have been confirmed for the film.
Gracija Filipovic as Julija:
The 20-years-old Croatian star did her debut as an actress in 2014. Her collaborative work with the Croatian filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović also includes two internationally acclaimed award-winning films which have given her more global recognition and fame as an actor. She is best known for her portrayal of emotionally scarred women in the short film ‘Into the Blue’ and this film won numerous awards. Gracija Filipovic is going to be seen playing the lead role of Julija in ‘Murina’ which is releasing in theatres on July 8, 2022.
The other actors in the coming-of-age teenage drama film ‘Murina’ include Danica Curcic, Leon Lucev, Cliff Curtis, and several others.
Creators
‘Murina’ is an award-winning Croatian film that has been created, directed, and written by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović in collaboration with Frank Graziano. The film has been executively produced by the iconic filmmaker and veteran star Martin Scorsese under his banner Sikelia productions. The film is releasing globally in theatres on July 8, 2022.
Last year on the Cannes International Film Festival red carpet, when Kusijanović was asked about what the title of the film and how personal is the story to her, and what inspired her to create this cinematic masterpiece, she said, “Murina is a moray eel. It’s the only animal that bits her own skin to free herself. For me, that was a metaphor of our protagonist. She’s ready to even sacrifice her own family to escape that place. I grew up on an island with my grandmother and my great grandmother. During the summers, I was free on this island and the contrast of this with stark, dangerous nature and hormones, that was kind of my upbringing and that inspired my short film Into The Blue. When I finished that film, I realized that I really wanted to stay more in that world. I started writing that same character, Julija, for the feature film. The world of chauvinism and family relationships and those dynamics started opening up because I was also spending a lot of time in Croatia at a time prepping the movie and the character really came to me there. Her desire for life, love, wanting more and wanting to leave her environment is probably something that is very close to me”.
Trailer
The official trailer for the film has been dropped by the makers. You can also watch it here.
