THE SWIMMERS

It's never clear what exactly drives the protagonists, both because the script doesn't address it properly and because the actors are merely proficient instead of riveting.

On paper The Swimmers contains all the ingredients for an uplifting tearjerker: the movie is based on the true-life tale of two sibling swimmers who escape the war in Syria to fulfil their dream of successfully competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In reality hardly anything that could have made The Swimmers into a special movie is apparent in the finished product though. For starters, the boring chronological structure of the narrative is interchangeable with just about any other movie that deals with overcoming adversity, as is the bland direction, which never succeeds in adding urgency to the tale of the sisters.

It's also never clear what exactly drives the protagonists, both because the script doesn't address it properly and because the actors are merely proficient instead of riveting. There are isolated scenes that grab you attention - the dangerous boat crossing to Europe is the most engaging one - but overall The Swimmers fails to build upon an intriguing premise.

release: 2022

director: Sally El Hosaini

starring: Manal Issa, Nathalie Issa, Matthias Schweighöfer, Ali Suliman