Die glitzernden Garnelen

The Shiny Shrimps

At first glance this just appears a French fusion of Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Swimming with Men. However it is neither, as the first was about harsh survival and the second a self-help group for broken men.

No other country except France produces such light touch comedy based on self-deprecation of ones own foibles and effortlessly mingles this with pathos and insight on the human condition. It is truly a French trait you see in many comedies from La Cage Aux Folles onwards.

This was very much a gay movies for a gay audience, the swimming club was presented as a place for self expression, meeting friends and having fun.

The whole movie was really all just froth and nonsense and had nothing to say of any gravitas. The acting was good, the set pieces in the pool not quite so good. We had two thoughts expressed that were of interest

• it is better to lose with the people you love than win alone.

• a minority group retains the privilege of expressing itself with derogatory language against itself (in this case homophobic).

I had a really great night as it was very entertaining but it largely appeals to a very specific audience so it's definitely not for everyone.

I saw this in the cineplex film night in Mannheim in french with german subtitles.

Lovable characters and the jokes are not pulled by the hair into the scenes (if the german proverb "bei den Haaren herbeigezogen" exists in english). Not comparable with the mainstream comedy movies - most of them american - I saw.

Funny, emotional and happy! The kind of movies we all need right now

Sports movies are about overcoming obstacles and finding strength in a team. This movie is no exception. The difference is that, this time, the team is going to the Gay Games, an international competition that celebrate LGBT people through sports. And they're being trained by an outsider : a swimmer who called a journalist a homophobic slur and has to make amends. Being an LGBT movie at the same time as a sports movie makes it possible to join two concepts from these two genres : the sports team, and the LGBT « found family ». The character of the trainer is then put as a contrast, as he becomes part of the team against his will, but does it for his own personal motives, not for the team members. Of course, he is a complex character who is also given the opportunity to evolve through the course of the movie. The obstacles that the team and its members have to face are varied, and all seen through a LGBT lens, although they avoid being reductible to « LGBT problems ». This allows the characters to be multi-dimensional : being gay (or trans in the case of one character) is a big part of their identity and of the movie (and of course they unfortunately have to deal with homophobia and transphobia), but it isn't their only defining characteristic, and they all live their gay-ness differently anyway. I don't want to say too much about the characters' issues because getting to know them is part of the journey. Some parts of the movie are a bit cliché, or, better said, predictable, but I doesn't take away the emotional core of the movie, which is, I think, above all about the ability of accepting yourself (even in the face of intolerance) and the importance of support among friends. I must say that, at the beginning of the movie, I was a bit disconcerted by some (not all) of the performances, which I found a little flat. However, this problem didn't last and I became entirely caught in the story. The last scene made me very emotional ; emotions which were only accentuated by the perfect music choice for the credits (Kid, by Eddy de Pretto, always makes me emotional). Even with the inherent sadness from a movie that deals with homophobia, illness and heartbreak, it still is a « feel-good » movie that makes you feel like you can be brave and live your dreams I very much recommend it.

I classify myself as a human being. Other human beings classify me as a straight white male. I still classify myself as a human being. I enjoyed this movie, seeing random humans doing happy random stuff. It's confusing that my fellow humans don't know 2nd article of UDHR.