The Swimmers

The Swimmers

movie

PG-13, 2022

WISE
82%

WISE Score

82

Avg. Tomatometer

Two Syrian sisters swim a sinking dinghy across the Mediterranean on their way to the Rio Olympics in this intense true story.

IMDb7.4
RT Critics82%
MC62
Common Sense Media
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Screenwise Verdict

If your teen thinks the global refugee crisis is just something that happens in social studies textbooks, The Swimmers will snap that into sharp focus. Sally El Hosaini's biopic follows real-life sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini as they leave war-torn Damascus, trek across Europe, and eventually reach the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. It is thrilling, emotionally weighty, and completely free of Hollywood sanitization.

The centerpiece of the movie—where the sisters literally slide into the Aegean Sea to haul a leaking, overcrowded dinghy to shore—is one of the most intense survival sequences in recent film. Beyond the adrenaline, the movie excels at showing two real teenagers who love pop music, argue over clothes, and fight for their future while everything around them collapses.

Because it covers real human smuggling, border violence, and an attempted sexual assault, this is not a casual Friday night family movie for younger kids. Put it on with your high schooler when you want a film that sparks serious, post-credits conversation about global courage and perseverance.

Age Fit

Best for ages 13 and up. The film handles heavy real-world trauma, including wartime bombings, a near-drowning boat emergency, and a sinister predatory situation in a border camp. Mature middle schoolers might handle it with a parent present, but 14+ is the sweet spot.

WISE Breakdown
Wholesome
75

At its heart, this is a fierce story of sisterly love, sacrifice, and incredible resilience. However, the realistic depiction of war trauma, refugee exploitation, and peril means it is far from a lighthearted watch.

Imaginative
70

It is a grounded biographical film, but the cinematic direction translates the internal drive, panic, and hope of swimming in open water into gripping visual storytelling.

Safe
62

Includes realistic bomb attacks in Syria, a terrifying open-sea dinghy crisis, human smugglers, a near-sexual assault threat, tear gas, and refugee camp distress. It is safe for mature teens who can handle intense real-world trauma, but unsafe for younger or sensitive viewers.

Enriching
92

Delivers an undeniable masterclass in empathy and global awareness, putting human faces on the refugee crisis while following an incredible athletic journey to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Parent Info
✓

Why It Might Be Great

  • Incredible real-life heroism: The core sequence where Yusra and Sarah jump into the Aegean Sea to lighten a failing boat and keep 18 refugees alive for three hours is unforgettable drama.
  • Puts real human faces on news headlines: Moves beyond abstract statistics about the Syrian refugee crisis to show the lived reality of middle-class teens forced to flee home.
  • Unapologetic sister dynamic: The relationship between Yusra and Sarah feels authentic, messy, competitive, and fiercely protective.
  • Inspirational athletic arc: Tracks Yusra Mardini's path all the way to competing under the Refugee Olympic Team in Rio 2016.
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What to Watch For

  • A terrifying bomb drop: An unexploded missile lands directly in the pool while Yusra is mid-race in Damascus, which is deeply unsettling.
  • Extended water panic: The dinghy crossing sequence lasts over 20 minutes and features intense panic, crying, drowning fears, and hypothermia.
  • Predatory danger: In a Hungarian refugee stop, a male smuggler traps Sarah in a room and attempts to assault her before her sister intervenes.
  • Refugee camp harshness: Depicts tear gas, fence-crossing, hostile border police, and squalid conditions across multiple European countries.

Conversation Starters

  • "How did seeing Yusra and Sarah's life in Damascus before the war change how you think about refugees?"
  • "Why do you think Sarah chose a different path after reaching safety while Yusra stayed focused on elite swimming?"
  • "When the engine failed on the boat, what drove the sisters to jump into the water instead of waiting for someone else to act?"
  • "How did the atmosphere at the 2016 Rio Olympics feel different for the Refugee Olympic Team compared to traditional country teams?"

Deep Dive

Beyond the Olympic Highlight Reel

Most sports biopics stick to a familiar formula: hard training, personal setback, dramatic stadium victory. The Swimmers takes that structure and smashes it against the reality of modern geopolitical displacement. Yusra Mardini was a competitive swimmer in Syria whose life plan was derailed by civil war. When a bomb tore through the roof of her training facility in Damascus, staying put ceased to be an option.

Director Sally El Hosaini spends the first act establishing that the Mardini family isn't an abstract narrative trope. They are a middle-class family hosting rooftop parties, taking selfies, and swimming laps under their father's relentless coaching. That grounding makes their eventual journey through Turkey, Greece, Serbia, and Hungary hit far harder.

"We wanted to tell the story of what it actually means to lose your home, but also what it means to retain your identity when the world only sees you as a statistic."

The Aegean Sea Sequence

The film's technical achievement peaks during the Mediterranean crossing. When the engine on an inflated dinghy built for six fails with 18 people aboard, Yusra and Sarah slip into the freezing water to stabilize the vessel. For three and a half hours in the open sea, their athletic training becomes literal survival gear. The scene is shot with claustrophobic, wave-level intimacy—you feel the cold, the fuel-slicked water, and the sheer exhaustion.

How to Watch It with Teens

The Swimmers works best when watched together rather than assigned as homework. It opens natural doors to discuss modern history, migration, and the ethics of how host nations treat displaced people without feeling preachy. Keep in mind that the European leg of their trek includes dark moments: callous smugglers, squalid detention centers, and a brief but harrowing moment where Sarah has to fight off a predatory man in a closed room.

Pair this film with news coverage of the Refugee Olympic Team or background reads on the Mardini sisters' ongoing activism. It is a vital, gripping watch that earns every bit of its two-hour-plus runtime.

What Parents Ask

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