The film is about two Syrian sisters – Yusra and Sara Mardini – who aretrained as professional swimmers in Damascus by their father. After theirswimming pool is bombed in 2015 in the armed conflict between President Assadand revolutionary protesters, the two sisters decide to flee to Germany toseek asylum. That is the beginning of a dangerous journey, through differentcountries and by sea.
Boat people
When the boat they use to cross the river almost sinks, the sisters must saveall the refugees in the boat by swimming across. Yusra and Sara Mardini arereal, and the movie is based on their true story. In the film they are playedby the actresses Nathalie and Manal Issa, who are also sisters.
The audience seems enthusiastic: on IMDb, viewers give the film 7.4 stars,accompanied by praise such as ‘gripping’ and ‘ eye opening ‘. But on socialmedia, Syrians themselves are sometimes downright negative. Several Syrianjournalists and writers regret that the film does not provide a politicalcontext about the armed conflict in the country. This, they say, makes it seemas if Syrians are only fighting among themselves instead of against a brutalregime.
The word ‘revolution’ does not appear in the film, which leads them toconclude that the film does not do justice to the truth. The film ends withall’s well that ends well for the Mardini sisters, while the conflict in Syriacontinues.
Influential media divided
Critics from influential media are divided on the film. The VPRO Guide doesrecommend the film, with four out of five stars: “A heavy theme, but theauthentic chemistry between the sisters and the beautiful camera work alonemake this true Netflix film worthwhile.”
The British newspaper The Guardian, on the other hand, gives the film only twostars out of five, because according to the reviewer it is more like a Disneysports film than a refugee drama. The film site Indiewire thinks that thescript is not very original, and that the story is portrayed too much as afeel-good film.
Furious
Even one of the two protagonists has a hard time with the end result, whichshe says shows how little space Arab artists are given by white film producersto tell their own stories. ” The Swimmers is not a film made by or forSyrians: it is a blown-up reflection of how Hollywood views the Arab world,”is the harsh conclusion of the Middle East Eye interview with the actress,Manal Issa, who plays the eldest sister. She confirms to RTL Nieuws that thequotes in the piece are her words.
The actress says she does not understand that she got the role as a French-Lebanese, and not a Syrian actress. So why did she take on the role herself?”I would have given up the role in an instant if there was also a Syriancandidate for the role,” she says in the interview. But there weren’t. Many ofthe other potential actresses came from Egypt or Maghreb countries, where theyspeak Arabic that differs more from Syriac Arabic than the dialect Issaspeaks.
The suitable protagonist had to speak both Arabic and English. In the firstpart of the film, the sisters speak Arabic to each other – as Yusra and Sarado together in real life – but in the second part they speak English. Issatried to add Arabic in more places in the script because she found it morenatural and real. But according to her, that was not allowed by the producer.”I was outraged by the number of times I was told the dialogue sounded’cooler’ in English,” she tells Middle East Eye. “It was disrespectful and Ifelt insulted.”
Hollywood formula
The discussion about what kind of actors should play which roles isincreasingly being held. “In the past, there were many American productionsabout minority groups that were written by white makers and featured whiteactors who painted their faces brown or black,” says Dan Hassler-Forest, filmscientist at Utrecht University.
According to him, this has certainly changed, but it remains a persistenttendency for white actors to get certain roles. “Especially when it comes toArab actors; that’s a group that has little presence in the Hollywood system,especially behind the camera.”
‘Envisioning middle-class white audiences’
But isn’t that exactly an actor’s job, to be free to play someone he’s notreally? “There is a certain stretch, but especially when it comes to telling astory that is about oppression or about a marginalized group – such asrefugees in this case – then it is very important to include that group inbuilding of the story.”
This persistent tendency stems from the idea that Hollywood makers have abouttheir audience. “They believe that the viewer wants to be able to recognizethemselves in what they see, but too often makers have a white, middle-classaudience in mind. All choices that producers then make are tailored to thatviewer.”
According to Hassler-Forest, partly because of this, it often happens thatfilms are in English while the characters in the story are actually not. “Themindset is that an international audience that is used to another languagewill be a barrier to viewers.”
For example, in the 1980s, Russian characters in films about the Cold Warspoke English with a Russian accent.
‘Painful logic’
In the new Avatar movie, Na’vi (the language on the island of Pandora) changesto English after a few scenes. “It stems from Eurocentrism, the idea thateverything that matters takes place in the West, and that that view istherefore also leading in how we experience the world. A painful logic, whichused to be taken for granted in Hollywood that a film without white maincharacters would make less money.”
Representation is not only about the actors, but also about the creators.Because other makers deliver a different story than a story that is told bywhite makers to a white audience. “In that respect, the rise of streaming likeon Netflix is progress,” says Hassler-Forest. “The offer is much morediverse, and it has become easier for a global audience to watch more thanjust American sitcoms.”
In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, British-Egyptian director Sally elHosaina says the casting process took more than a year, and that she did lookfor Syrian actresses. But she soon learned that it was difficult or evenimpossible for most candidates in terms of paperwork and asylum status totravel to the countries where the recordings took place. In the film, only therole of the mother is played by a Syrian actress.
The use of the English and Arabic language in the film was also a consciouschoice, according to El Hosaina. At first the whole script was in English, butshe wanted it different. That is why she transcribed the first part intoArabic. “And then as they continue their journey, they switch to English,which is very realistic for a bilingual experience,” the director says in apodcast.
Good intentions
In the interview, Manal Issa mainly blames Netflix and the producer of thefilm, and thinks that the director has done her best. Netflix has not answeredquestions that Middle East Eye and RTL News have sent by email.
So is this Netflix film just compelling entertainment, or does the vieweractually take home a message? “It’s important that the stories of refugees aretold, and the creators probably had good intentions,” says Hassler-Forest.”But if it becomes too much of a story about someone learning to becomeWestern, the viewer doesn’t learn anything about what it means to be Arab.”
