The Swimmers
Netflix- PG-13Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some violence including sexual assault, and language.
- 2h 14m
Nov 23, 2022
From war-torn Syria to the 2016 Rio Olympics, two young sisters embark on a harrowing journey as refugees, putting both their hearts and champion swimming skills to heroic use.
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- Wed Aug 26
- Thu Aug 27
- Fri Aug 28
- Sat Aug 29
- Sun Aug 30
- Mon Aug 31
- Tue Sep 1
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Other Details
Country of Origin: United Kingdom,United States
Language: English,Arabic
Summaries
Plot Summary
- The plot follows the life story of teenage Syrian refugees Yusra Mardini (Nathalie Issa) and her sister Sarah Mardini (Manal Issa), who swam alongside a sinking dinghy of refugees to lighten it, and eventually help 18 refugees to reach safety across the Aegean Sea while being smuggled from Izmir towards Lesbos. Yusra and Sarah led happy lives in Syria. They live with their parents Ezzat Mardini (Ali Suliman) & Mervat Mardini (Kinda Alloush). Ezzat is their swimming coach and dreams of watching them swim in the Olympics. Yusra is the stronger swimmer, while Sarah is a leader. The Syrian revolution against President Assad started a civil war in the country. 4 yrs later, the girls are still training, but know that Syria as a country does not exist anymore and their goal of swimming at the Olympics is now farther than ever. The girls are regularly harassed by Assad's forced, who cop a feel at every check point all over the city. The girls decide to migrate to Germany. Ezzat feels that it is too dangerous, and their refugee status will put their swimming careers at risk. Sarah feels that Ezzat cares only for Yusra and not for her.Yusra has a narrow escape when her swimming competition venue is also bombed. Ezzat, who is also her coach, almost died. Yusra convinces Ezzat to let them cross over to Germany with their cousin Nizar (Ahmed Malek). The initial plan is to fly to Turkey on tourist visas and then use a smuggler to reach the Bulgarian border. This is safer than the sea route. Ezzat gives them 10K euros to start their new life in Europe.They reach Istanbul, where Nizar finds a smuggler who promises to put them in Lesbos (Greece) for $2000 per person. But it's a sea route, and the girls are reluctant since Ezzat was not in favor of the same. The Bulgarian land route is a very long walk. Yusra agrees to go with the smuggler, when she sees that he has a family. They follow the smuggler to the coast in a bus, where they meet Emad (James Krishna Floyd), a fellow refugee who has come from Afghanistan and Bilal (Elmi Rashid Elmi) (Emad's friend).To their horror, the boat is a rubber dinghy with patches in many places. Plus, the dinghy is overcrowded and the smuggler himself is not coming with them. Halfway through, the boat starts filling with water and the motor cuts out.Nazir tries to fix the engine but fails. Night falls and as the dinghy keeps filling with water, the refugees are busy just throwing the water out of the dinghy. They lighten the load by throwing out everything they don't need. Eventually Sarah and Yusra jump into the water to keep the dinghy from sinking, even as the engine restarts. They swim alongside the dinghy. The next morning, they reach land and Greece.Subsequent struggles as refugees are vividly depicted. In Greece, people refuse to serve refugees, even if they can pay money. The UN aid organizations have set up camps to distribute basic supplies to the refugees. Emad has a crush on Sarah. The refugees then take a ferry to the mainland and follow the train tracks from city to city, with a goal to reach Germany.One man tells them that the Serbian police is fingerprinting refugees at the border, and if you get caught, you are stuck. He promises to take them to Hungary for 500 euros each but abandons them in the middle of nowhere. The sisters and Emad were in that group. They find another smuggler who offers to take them to Hungary for 800 euros each, this time in cars. Yusra and Sarah get separated as they sit in different cars. Yusra and Nazir make it across the border, but Sarah has not yet arrived. Sarah comes over the following morning. Yusra and Sarah survive a rape attempt in their hiding location.They are offered a ride in a truck (with oxygen and food supplies inside) across the border to Germany, but after the rape attempt, Yusra refuses to get inside. Sarah and Nizar stay behind with her. Sarah spends her remaining money to book them into a nice hotel, so Yusra can have a break. The next morning Nizar finds that the German govt is organizing some buses to transport refugees directly into Germany. The trip gets on one of the buses. The next morning, they reach Berlin, Germany. They are taken to a refugee camp for processing. The men and the women are housed separately in cramped shelters, built inside a large indoor stadium. 2 months later, they are still waiting for their asylum papers. Yusra continues her exercise regime to keep fit.Yusra and Sarah travel to a local swimming club, where they meet coach Sven (Matthias Schweighofer). Yusra convinces Sven to give her a chance, when she says that she can do 100m butterfly in 1:09. Sven is impressed when he sees the sisters swim. Sven sees their camp and gets them both a room at the swimming club. Yusra is focused on Rio. Sven encourages Yusra to take it slow, but she is determined to get into Rio. Sven says it is possible that Yusra doesn't swim at Rio.Sarah & Nizar meet Emad in Berlin asylum center. Sarah is told by the immigration officer that her asylum request has been registered but will take 2 yrs to be granted. She cannot bring her parents from Syria to Germany during that period, even though Syria is being bombed and their parents are in great danger. Yusra is devastated and ends up having a big fight with Sarah, saying that she is wasting her time and not even trying to accomplish anything. Sven tells Yusra that IOC has decided to form a refugee team for the Rio Olympics. Yusra can get onto the team if her times improve. Yusra devotes herself to training, after being encouraged by Sarah. Sven works on Yusra's technique and brings her time into the Rio selection zone. Yusra gets her Olympics kit, while Sarah gets jealous and cuts her hair. Sarah decides to go back to Lesbos and join an NGO to help refugees who are crossing.Yusra Mardini's swimming career sees her reaching the Rio 2016 Olympics as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team. But even there she faces discrimination, as the other swimmers believe that the refugee team was not selected on merit. Sarah comes to support Yusra at the Olympics. Yusra ends up winning her heat at the 100 m butterfly event. She finished 41 / 45. She also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.The final credits inform that Yusra's sister Sarah, who had returned to Lesbos as part of voluntary efforts to assist incoming refugees in 2016, had been arrested and faced charges carrying potentially long-term prison sentences, if convicted. The rest of the Mardini family crossed the sea later that yr and was re-united in Berlin.
Storyline
- Sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini fled their home country of Syria in 2015 when their house was destroyed during the civil war. They journeyed to Lebanon and then onto Turkey where they arranged to be smuggled into Greece on a dinghy. However, the refugees were in the middle of the Aegean Sea when the engine of the overcrowded dinghy cut out and the pair, plus two others who could swim, were responsible for saving the lives of those on board. Just a year after their harrowing experience Yusra competed in two swimming events at the Rio Olympics as part of the Refugee Olympic team.
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