sacks-162-755605 Review of The Swimmers

The Swimmers (2022)

powerful, gripping, beautifully done, compelling and important story

[10/10 · 13 November 2022]

Beautiful, deeply moving, and thought-provoking film. The dialogue and performances felt completely authentic. The story was compelling from start to finish. The subject matter is obviously rather awful and it was sometimes painful to watch the suffering of these characters who seemed so real (and in fact were real), yet there was also so much humor and grit and so many moments of unexpected joy that the film never felt bleak. As a lap swimmer (though not a good one), I felt that the director and cinematographer really captured how compelling swimming -- a sport that might seem dull from the outside -- can be. It would be easy for a film like this to be mawkish, or bleak, or overwhelming, or preachy, but it was none of these things. Wonderful film. I hope it wins heaps of oscars.