"Murina," an impressively tense, psychologically astute drama from Croatia, opens with a glimpse of Chekhov's spear gun, a device not uncommon in tales of underwater peril.
Julija (Gracija Filipovic), a dark-haired 17-year-old who's spent most of her life swimming and snorkeling off the Adriatic coast, is making a routine dive with her fisherman father, Ante (Leon Lucev), hunting for the moray eels that are the region's signature delicacy (and which are referenced by the movie's title). Out come the harpoons and flashlights, illuminating a dark blue world whose seen and unseen wonders, and even its occasional terrors, are for Julija a much-needed respite from the oppressiveness of her life above the surface.
You could think of this particular coming-of-age story as a sly reversal of "The Little Mermaid," in which a very human teenager seeks to escape the tiny piece of dry land she calls home. Really, she needs to get away from Ante, a father so bitterly controlling that you may fantasize about seeing him on the receiving end of that harpoon, or at least a well-earned slap. Large of ego and short of temper, Ante barks orders at Julija and appraises her with a contemptuous stare, exhibiting some pride at her prowess underwater but also a growing resentment of the independent-minded woman she's becoming. His bad vibes and hard-to-fathom cruelty are the drivers of this movie's unflagging tension; they also speak to a larger tragedy, at once distant and ongoing, that has engulfed more than one victim.
