Character Relationship Map: Metastases

Characters

• Krpa (played by Rene Bitorajac) — protagonist

  Antisocial football hooligan and Croatian War of Independence veteran who constantly abuses his wife. He frequently insults and physically attacks others for complaining about his behavior. In the fin...

• Filip (played by Franjo Dijak) — protagonist

  Drug addict who completes a three-year rehabilitation program in Spain. Upon returning to Zagreb, he reunites with his friends and attempts to stay clean under parental pressure. He later travels to S...

• Dejo (played by Rakan Rushaidat) — supporting

  Half-Serb son of a former Yugoslav officer who struggles with drug addiction and debt. He endures constant ethnic insults from Krpa, including being forced to kiss the Altar of the Homeland. He accomp...

• Kizo (played by Robert Ugrina) — supporting

  Alcoholic cat lover and War of Independence veteran living with his mother. He attempts to join his friends for a football match but misses them, returns home to buy alcohol and cat food, and spends t...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Kizo → Dejo (Social Friend) — Their relationship is based on shared membership in the group.

  Kizo and Dejo are both identified as members of the same group of four friends.

• Filip → Kizo (Social Friend) — They are connected through the group’s neighborhood and football ties.

  Filip and Kizo are members of the same four-person friendship group that plans to attend a football match.

• Filip → Dejo (Alliance Travel Partner) — They cooperate directly during the drug journey.

  Filip travels with Dejo to Sarajevo to buy heroin and returns with him in Dejo’s car.

• Krpa → Dejo (Conflict Antagonist) — Krpa subjects Dejo to ethnic hostility and humiliation.

  Krpa repeatedly insults Dejo because of his Serbian background and persuades him to kiss the Altar of the Homeland.

• Krpa → Kizo (Social Friend) — Their friendship is part of the group’s shared football culture.

  Krpa and Kizo are included among the four unconventional friends who support Dinamo Zagreb.

• Krpa → Filip (Social Friend) — They belong to the same troubled circle of friends.

  The plot identifies Krpa and Filip as two members of the same group of four friends from a Zagreb neighbourhood.

Story Analysis

Four troubled friends move through addiction, ethnic hostility, isolation, and escalating criminal consequences in late-1990s Zagreb and the surrounding region.

Plot Progression

1. Return To A Fractured Circle — Filip returns to Zagreb after rehabilitation and reunites with his three friends. The group’s football identity contrasts with their addiction, isolation, and unstable behavior.
2. Violence Behind Familiar Faces — Kizo misses the group and retreats into alcohol and care for his kittens. Krpa’s aggression and ethnic hostility toward Dejo expose the destructive power dynamics within the circle.
3. The Sarajevo Detour — Dejo’s addiction and debts contribute to a dangerous plan with Filip. The two travel to Sarajevo and buy heroin before stopping at relatives’ home in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
4. Contraband In The Potatoes — The relatives offer potato bags for Filip’s parents, but the bags cannot fit in Dejo’s car. Filip hides heroin in one bag, creating a concealed chain of risk.
5. Flight From The Betting Shop — Border police eventually find the hidden heroin during transport. Separately, Krpa robs a betting shop and ends the film running from police.