The other key figure is a visitor to the island, Javier (Cliff Curtis). There’s her father Ante (Leon Lucev) with whom she goes spearfishing to catch the moray eels that provide this film with its title and her mother, Nela (Danica Ćurčić). The initial impression is that not a shot is wasted while the writing is such that every scene feels multi-layered and thus rich in meaning. The director, who also devised the story and co-wrote the screenplay, seems all set to give us a film that is rewardingly economical. My praise for Murina does not stop there. That fine photographer Hélène Louvart captures perfectly the ambivalence at the centre of the piece: the opening shots of the sea seem wondrously blue but then you notice the shadows that counter its luminosity and, similarly, the island that is home to Julija could seem like a holiday paradise yet Louvart’s camera picks out its harsh terrain. Nor is it just the acting that stands out. Gracija Filipović who plays the 16-year-old girl at its centre, Julija, is splendid but, even so, the impression left by the four leading players is that this is a brilliant ensemble cast richly deserving of one of those rare awards in which the prize is shared by all of them. For much of its length, it is easy to see why. Murina, a debut feature by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović set on a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, was the winner of the Camera d’Or award at Cannes in 2021.
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