Coming-of-age stories are a staple of Hollywood, and have proved to be one of its most diverse and evergreen genres. The stories can take the form of comedies likeDazed and ConfusedorClueless, more dramatic turns likeThe 400 BlowsorThe Graduate, or somewhere in between withStand By Me,The Breakfast Club, andThe Perks of Being a Wallflower. The underlying similarities between them are thematic, centering around the sometimes joyful, sometimes heartbreaking, almost always complicated changes that occur in the transition from childhood to adulthood, and how these change the individual. 2021’sMurinaperfectly fits into this mold with its own unique spin on the formula.
While the film marks the debut feature effort from Croatian-born directorAntoneta Alamat Kusijanović, theMartin Scorseseproducer credit garnered the film more mainstream attention, allowing for it to gain more momentum (along with itsCannes Caméra d’Or win). Following a teenage girl’s tumultuous trip around the Croatian coast with her parents, the film allows the audience to grow with the protagonist, as she discovers disheartening truths about adult relationships and the difficulties (but also the necessity) of becoming an independent adult.
In a remote Croatian village, a young girl named Julija yearns for freedom from her oppressive family life. When an old family friend arrives, secrets are unveiled, and Julija sees a chance to break free and discover her own path.
What Is ‘Murina’ About?
Murinafollows Julija (played byGracija Filipović) as she travels around gorgeous Croatian islands and coastal locales with her parents, while her father intently tries to close a business deal with an old associate (associate being a necessarily vague description, as his relationship with the family is revealed to be complicated). Throughout this trip,Julija consistently butts heads with her rude and domineering father, which leads to anuncomfortable tension constantly simmeringunderneath the surface of all the family’s interactions. This dynamic is only complicated by the father’s associate’s presence (who seems to provide an alternative life path for Julija) as tensions also begin to build between him and the father.
Throughout the story, the business dealings of the adult world occupy the background, emblematic of how the film is being told from Julija’s more youthful point of view and how these things do not interest her. Her focus is on her future, her freedom, and her frustrations with her family. The awkward energy that exists throughout most of the film due to the family’s interactions makes some of it uncomfortable to watch, but it allows the audience to explore their complicated personal dynamics, particularly between ateenager on the cusp of adulthood having to “love” a family she might not particularly like. Through Filipović’s performance, the audience can alsoexplore that coming-of-age transition, as Julija is at times immature in her world view, but also sympathetic and relatable to anyone in a similar position or someone who was at one point at the same type of life crossroads.
‘Murina’ Showcases the Complications of Adulthood
Julija’s journey in the film highlights an important understanding that anyone growing up has to learn:the adult world is complicated and oftentimes contradictory. Julija watches as her father transforms from the harsh, unpleasant man she knows into a crowd-pleasing host trying to put on an image of domestic happiness, showing her public affection as opposed to how he treats her in private. Beyond her father, though, she has to come to terms withhow life is not as simple as one would imagine or, frankly, hope as a child. The family associate who comes to visit initially seems like a beacon of light, a perfect example of how easy and fun life could be, and a chance at escape. However, a magazine cover featuring the man with the words “The Ruthless Icon” emblazoned across the frontforeshadows that his role in her life(and her father’s and mother’s as well) may not be as cut and dried as she would want to believe.
Julija also berates her mother throughout the film for her choice to stay with the father, highlighting not only the continued and relatable tension between parent and child at these turning point moments in life, but alsoJulija’s naïveté and simplistic view of the world. She does not take into account other factors, including her mother’s own feelings or life circumstances, seeing only the situation through her own tunnel vision brought on by anger. This lack of perspective carries over to her view of her own circumstances. One poignant moment of the film is when Julija exclaims, with some attempted authority, “I can do what I want,” but it comes off so plainly impotent and lacking true confidence (this is precisely proven by her returning to her family environment only moments later). There should be no mistake though,Julija is never unlikable; her situation is indeed troubling and she is a very sympathetic character. It is her world view and how she can approach what is bothering her that, despite how emotionally difficult it may be, needs to be addressed and become the catalyst for hergrowth throughout the film.
The Significance of Water in ‘Murina’
Murinaconsistently returns to the beautiful waters surrounding Julija’s trip, and not only does this allow for the visually stunning aesthetic much of the film has, but it also serves a symbolic purpose. The water (and the act of diving) are clearly an escape for Julija, a safe space, wonderfully illustrated insome of the diving sequences' quiet magic, particularly one in which Julija sees an old sunken ship. The water’s transient properties, flowing from one place to another in endless motion, are part of what draws Julija to it so much,both an exciting freedom and a calm motion that is not present in her family life.
The water’s role goes beyond this though, as it intertwines with her strained relationship with her father. The two dive and go spearfishing together, and under the water they are equal:there’s no talking, no arguing, no intimidation; they simply exist. If anything, Julija being armed with a speargun gives her some kind of power that goes unspoken and perhaps unnoticed by the father (but not by her).
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One of the film’s most memorable scenes brings this water motif to the forefront, in a harrowing sequence of near-drowning during which multiple reversals happen:the water is no longer an escape but becomes a frightening danger, and the absence of Julija’s family is nowa nightmare rather than her dream. Through the despair and horror of this moment, Julija is forced into discovering whether or not she can truly be an independent adult, or if everything she has been saying so far has simply been the wishful thinking of a helpless child. To do this entails her reclaiming her love of the water, in a way she would not have dared to try if it was not necessary.
Murinadelves into familiar themes of teen rebellion that develops into an uncomfortable knowledge of what becoming an independent adult will truly entail, but it does it in a uniquely satisfying way, both stylistically and in a narrative sense. Thanks to Filipović’s performance,Julija’s journey from frustrated teenager to young adult on the path to becoming their own personis an excellent and underrated watch well worth checking out.
