Tulum Dalibor Matanic

A party with no happy ending

Living with the burden of a recent war is a challenge. The landscape, the memories, the suffering, and especially the ghosts in our mind keep haunting us with their omniscient presence. In Tulum, Dalibor Matanic explores this situation in an atmosphere that combines dreams, imagination and the cruelest reality.

A group of young people decides to throw a party next to a river. Their amusements are simple: beer, some drugs, and a lot of kisses. They are happy, even though they know they have to go back to real life soon. Nevertheless, this joyful mood shifts to a painful one when the lead character wakes up in the middle of a cemetery, only to find the tombs of the friends she saw only a minute ago. (you can put this in your own words, but beloved ones doesn’t make so clear its the people she was just with)

Although the recent war is present in the narration (through the shots of destroyed buildings), it only appears with all its strength in the cemetery scene. The change of mood is one of the best qualities in this short film, because the happy and relaxed atmosphere of the first part is replaced by a melancholic environment, reinforced by the skilled use of cinematography and music.

The circular narration of the film contrasts the two situations - the fantasy and the reality. Yet it also shows with the actress’ smile that, even though her ghosts are still part of her present life, there is hope to build something new.

Nathalia Ames