Tulum & Metastaze

Tulum, a very short and very haunting film, is accompanied by Metastaze, a longer and yet equally as powerful film. The common thread shared by Tulum and Metastaze is the devastation wrought by a war that has hit Croatia.

As the first scenes in Tulum progress it appears that the story is centered around a group of friends who have decided to go on a road trip. However, the film begins to unravel and we are left instead with shots of laughing faces, eerie music and an equally as eerie silence, grave-markers, and a dead monotony. Instead of the group of friends as main characters, there is only a woman going through a repetitive cycle of grief.

A similar variety of repetition can be found in Metastaze. However, in this film we are definitely following the lives of four friends, each troubled in their own way. First there is Filip, who is trying to please his parents, more specifically his father, but not become immersed within the life they want for him. Next is Krpa, the abuser. He walks around as if he is entitled to everything that he wants. He is the most physically dangerous of the group, with a short temper and an idiocy that allows him to act on impulses. Then, there is Kizo, who is the dim drunk. Kizo, although an alcoholic, maintains fierce values throughout the film. He believes in loyalty and treasures friendship. Finally, we come across Dejo. Dejo, the drug addict, maintains a role of selfishness in throughout film.

Although Metastaze has varying messages, there is a tension, resulting from the war, that is weaved into the film and that ties it nicely with the accompanying piece, Tulum. All throughout Metastaze, there are mentions of the war. There is a particular scene in which Krpa is willing to turn on his friend Dejo because of religious preferences. In this scene a line is drawn and a contrast made to the film Tulum. Where the characters in Metastaze were “friends” with conflict amongst themselves, the party in Tulum flowed together in harmony. However, even though the distinction is made, there is still that binding thread that makes the characters in both Tulum and Metastaze products of their surroundings; of the same war.