Murina

A lovely film that transports you back to summer , , also a well performed and excellently written and directed film.

Essentially, it tells the story of a young woman and her domineering father on vacation in Croatia, swimming, snorkelling and seemingly following his expectations for her future, that is until a an old friend of the family comes along and sees how she is being stifled by her own father, so tries to help her break out and find her own potential. The results are tense and dramatically powerful but ring true as an honest coming of age tale. It's all wonderfully done and with a real sense of location, summer, youth and beauty. Well worth a watch.

I enjoyed this film. The picture and scenery looked stunning. The acting was pretty good overall.

But at the same time, I felt this film lacked proper character development, given its subject. The story is about a controlling father and his relationship with his daughter and our main hero Julija. But here is the thing - Julija is shown as very much her own person right from the start. She has a no-nonsense attitude and is happy to tell-off anyone (including her father) whenever she feels like it. If anything, at times it felt like her mother was actually the controlling parent with her constant remarks ("please wear this dress", "please don't speak" and so on).

Since Julija was in command from the start, the whole climax of the film felt rather pointless, or at least disengaging. We already knew she was independent.

Outstanding and well directed story which unfortunately didn't totally convince me due to some setting/plot and acting weakness. I won't spoil the storyline/script problems I found (I assume the english subbing was faithful): they are not really important but prevented me to fully enjoy the film.

G. Filipovic, the absolute protagonist - though a talented mediterranean beauty and a pleasure to watch (the writer/director agrees and indulges in a lot of revealing swimsuit shots) - doesn't always show a proper range. In some instances either fails to convince (not conveying the dramatic tension required in some scenes) or gets out of character (turning from silly girl to wise housewife to plotting homewrecker and back with too much ease) - proving that eyes actually lie.

Overall though, a very good drama about a family living in a secluded villa on the croatian coastline, and inexorably disintegrating when an affluent friend considers investing in the land.

As an insignificant side note: I'd have likely never watched this movie if it hadn't won the Cannes' "camera d'or" prize over "Rien a foutre" which recently made a great impression on me. Another drama about a young woman. Another film that deserves to be watched - though IMO not in the same category.

Julija loves the sea and to foray, but is she the metaphorical moray, trapped in a creel, caught on a reel, with a father that treats her as quarry.

Beautiful film, top drawer performances, growing up can be tough!

I found the father figure infuriating, but it provoked such a strong reaction. Its a movie about family strife, and it does that very well. Also, the will to overcome adversity in adolescence. Settings beautiful and acting was impressive.