The Swimmers

Based on a true story of hope and resilience, The Swimmers relates the extraordinary turn of events that saw sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini escape war-torn Syria and risk their lives on an overcrowded dinghy to then end up at the 2016 Rio Olympics only a year later. 

Aspiring competitive swimmers Yusra (Nathalie Issa) and Sara (Manal Issa) have been trained by their father since early childhood. While Yusra is focused and determined to make it as a sportswoman, Sara is more drawn to creating her own path. Their journeys of self-discovery and their progress as swimmers are heavily disrupted by constant bombings in their city, so the young girls decide to find a way to reach the safety of Europe so as to secure better prospects. 

The crossing to Germany, their final destination, is arduous and traumatic in many ways: not only must they face exhausting walks, barbed wire fences, the police and people trying to trick them into paying large sums for dubious assistance, but the hardest part is crossing the sea to reach Greece. An unsafe dinghy leaves the group of refugees stranded in the Mediterranean, and the girls must use their swimming skills to save everyone’s lives.

Director Sally El Hosaini essentially presents a sports movie with an added layer of drama that makes the focus much wider than mere personal glory. It’s a story that is definitely worth telling, and the chemistry between the two lead actresses, who are sisters in real life, gives their scenes a sense of authenticity. Still, one gets the feeling that the girls’ personal story is used as a symbolic message for many other things, but the film never really gets under the skin of the characters. The Swimmers is heavy-handed, verging on melodrama at times, but is nevertheless touching and inspiring in many ways. 

Mersa Auda

The Swimmers is released on Netflix on 11^th November 2022.

Watch the trailer for The Swimmers here: