When I was growing up, my parents made me go swim.
Some kids play sports - I swam.I did not pursue competition - I participated in some swimming events, but I had no higher ambitions.
Even being tangential to the sport, I still check in on the swimming events during every Olympics.
I remember reading about the Mardini sisters and Yusra’s participation in the Olympics but I was not that familiar with her and Sarah’s story.
The Swimmers is an example of a genre I do not particularly like: the biographical drama.
The problem is the contradiction between those two words. A genre has certain recognisable conventions and forms; real life does not.
This movie is also trying to stand astride the narratives of the sisters with the broader story of the refugee crisis of 2015, showing the inhumanity of the European nations who tried to prevent people from reaching safety.
That the movie succeeds as much as it does is down to the movie’s extended narrative structure. When I first saw the runtime was over two hours, I was worried this would mean a bloated mess.
While there are moments where it feels like the movie could have a few snips, that large canvas works against the sisters’ story falling into feeling a box.
Is it a story about two girls heroically saving a boatload of people? An ensemble drama about refugees trying to reach safety? A sports movie about an underdog reaching for the Olympic stage?
The Swimmers is all of these movies, but it never feels like a mishmash because its focus is on the sisters and their relationship.
This is where the movie is at its best, in the everyday details of the girls’ lives, their dynamics with each other and their family.
The sequence of the refugees’ boat on the way to Lesbos could have been the focus of another movie, but here it is subordinate to the focus on the sisters’ evolving relationship
One of the things that stands out about the movie is how the war is not shown in the early scenes - we are immersed in the girls’ lives, both training and hanging out with friends and family. The film does a good job of realising the juxtaposition of ordinary people trying to get on with their lives while a war literally goes on in the background.
The first time the war is visualised is as background crossfire while the girls party during out-door DJ party. The portrayal of Syria is one of the best aspects of the film, specifically in its general avoidance of imagery that reinforces familiar stereotypes of the Middle East as a war zone.
The relationship between the sisters is intriguing, and I wish there was a little more of it. While the relationship is the focus, there are a few times where I had trouble tracking where they were at.
It does mean the movie avoids a familiar trajectory - their father’s focus on Yusra is an unspoken fissure between the siblings that does not go the way you would expect.
I did find myself wishing for a little more contrivance as the story moves to Berlin, more of a stronger narrative spine as the sisters start to come into conflict.
The Mardini sisters are played by real-life siblings Manal (Sarah) and Nathalie Issa (Yusra), which gives their dynamic a lived-in familiarity.
While Yusra has an obvious storyline, the most fascinating characterisation is Manal’s Sarah - older, and somewhat inoculated by her father’s favouritism, Sarah has more of a character arc, as she finds a new passion that is unique to herself.
Manal Issa brings a flinty self-reliance and a wry perspective that enlivens the movie.
She is also a great scene partner for her sister. Nathalie does not have as long a filmography as Manal, and there are a few awkward moments - although that might have more to do with having to shoot scenes in another language.
While its scope has its benefits, the movie feels a bit long, and so some of its power is dissipated. The movie sometimes hits the issues in obvious ways, mostly in dialogue, but those moments are few and far between.
A fine drama, The Swimmers is a bit long and unwieldy, but good performances and a focus on the central relationship make it worth watching.
No comments:
Post a Comment