“The Swimmers” Trailer Promises Heartbreak and Triumph

Based on the incredible true story, The Swimmers recounts the harrowing ordeal of sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini, who fled the Syrian Civil War. Both competitive swimmers, their skills and courage helped them survive their journey and compete at the highest levels of the sport.

Directed by Sally El Hosaini (My Brother the Devil), who co-wrote the script with by Jack Thorne (Radioactive), the film earned acclaim at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. It also looks genuinely inspiring, as opposed to some of the faux-inspirational movies Thorne has written in the past. This does not look like the kind of movie that will shy away from the horrors the sisters experienced, yet won't be entirely depressing.

The Swimmers opens in limited release on November 11, and streams exclusively on Netflix starting November 23.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.