Toronto Review “The Swimmers”: Extraordinary True Story of Syrian Sisters on Heartbreaking Journey to Compete in the Rio Olympics

Netflix has a slew of high-profile films coming to the Toronto Film Festival, just like Venice and Telluride did, but a less announced title with instantly recognizable star names has been chosen to open the festival tonight. swimmers It could be a surprise winner for the streamer when it launches this fall. It certainly reverses the curse of some of TIFF’s less successful opening nights.

Apparently, in a triumphant appearance at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, swimmers A truly moving and tense story about the plight of refugees seeking a better life against all odds. The strength of this film is that it is an unlikely sports saga about a pair of Syrian sisters who demonstrate excellent swimming skills at school and are so impressive that they can be Olympic caliber. But first you wonder if this will become a game changer calculation, It’s basically the story of two young people who have no real chance of escaping war-torn Damascus, where the horrific daily bombings of the Russians destroy hope everywhere, and it’s the impressive story of the refugees making their way up there. Freedom, an epic immigration saga that’s all the more powerful because it’s 100% true.

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Sara (Manal Issa) and Yusra (Natalie Issa) Mardin try to live as normally as possible in a war-torn country. . His coach is a former swimmer. They have natural talent, but over the years Sarah loses interest in what is happening in her country, while Yusra still has Olympic dreams. After a bomb nearly killed them while they were in the pool, her father reluctantly agrees to let them emigrate to Germany before Yusra’s 18th birthday, a milestone that finally allows them to be reunited with family in a safer environment. They leave, but Ezat has one condition: that his cousin Nizar (Ahmed Malek) accompany them on the terrifying journey. It starts with the ability to get flights to Istanbul via Beirut with tourist visas, with some clever driving and negotiation from Farad Nizar, and eventually meet and bond with other refugees from different countries before embarking on one of your trips. . The most dangerous parts of his adventure, crossing the ocean on a poorly equipped raft with 20 other people. This stick sinks, an event where your swimming skills come in handy, but it’s a touch for everyone, including your new friends.

All of this leads to one of the most visually stunning scenes in the film: the sight of a mountain of hundreds of life jackets strewn across the coast of Lesbos as they land, life jackets representing those lucky enough to have done so. same. they lived to tell the story. on purpose . It is an image that is worth a thousand words, which speaks volumes about the difficult situation of the refugees.

Tighter escapes and a difficult journey eventually lead them to Berlin, where they must remain in a refugee shelter with six other women in hopes of obtaining asylum. They are told not to go, but Yusra, eager to get back to the pool, finds a local swim club where she meets Sven (German superstar Matthias Schwiegiofer), a coach who initially rejects her desire to help with her swim team. . . But he wins when she gives up and he sees her talent. Complications arise between the sisters when Jursa is thrown back into the spotlight, but her 18th birthday comes and goes, meaning the family cannot be reunited unless those who remained in Syria face the same deadly journey. As the Olympics approach, Sven devises a plan to allow a team of refugees to compete. Yusra is reluctant to compete for her country, but in the end she gets the chance.

Director Sally El Hossain collaborated with Jack Thorne on the 2018 adaptation of Jursa’s autobiography. Mariposa: From the refugee to the Olympics – My story of survival, hope and triumphand turned the film into a moving story of female perseverance and empowerment, with a special focus on Arab women, who rarely get this opportunity in a mainstream film. The director shuns all conventional cinematic clichés in the over-the-top genre of sports-inspired films without rewriting the rules but keeping them somehow fresh. Swimming has never been at the top of Hollywood’s list, possibly since Olympic champion Esther Williams became an MGM star in the 1940s and 1950s. But then again, this is not a story of swimmers, despite the title. This is the exciting adventure of two women, and many other women, who defied their circumstances and came out victorious. The film is not about the conflicts between them, the rivalry between siblings, the ups and downs, but it remains mainly a kind of family love story, unlike the older and younger sister in Serena and Venus in tennis, when you think; Ironically, this comes just a year after her story hit the screens. King Richard. The Hossain also focuses on the sheer ambition that makes a champion, the inner drive to succeed, and it’s an oddity of fate that it took a war to get him away from where they could truly pursue their dreams. They both go their separate ways, but they stay together, as always.

Casting director Shaheen Baig deserves recognition for finding actors so compelling that they stand in front of El Hossain to work on this film. Especially Issa’s sisters, who were cast for the role of Yusra and Sarah. They are excellent and completely convincing in and out of the water. The rest of the cast is well-chosen, most notably Nahel Tsigai, who plays Shada, a refugee who joins them on their journey and also has a newborn baby. Schweighofer shows why she is a star, fully committed as Sven.

Hossain is really going places. As a director, he shows complete mastery behind the camera and his own Arab background has certainly helped inspire him to make it as authentic as it looks; swimmers It’s a movie and a story you won’t soon forget.

Working Title veterans Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are producing alongside Tim Cole and Ali Jafar. Executive producers include director Stephen Daldry. The technical credits are top notch, especially the work of cinematographer Christopher Ross and editor Ian Kitching. Stephen Price’s score goes up.