Swimmer

Seen as part of the London 2012 Festival programme of four short films, together with Max and Dania's What If?, Asif Kapadia's The Odyssey and Mike Leigh's A Running Jump.

Marvel as a swimmer's arm breaks the water, sending out a cascade of shiny droplets. Watch the reed-beds drift by in artful black and white. Hear fragments from British films of years long gone by. Lynne's Ramsay's film is one of those shorts which just isn't short enough. With no discernible narrative and far too much lingering on the play of light on water, The Swimmer is a reminder that however dull going for a swim at your local pool may be, sometimes doing lengths can still be a more interesting way to spend time than being sat in a cinema.

If this had been a 5 minute loop in a room at the Tate Modern, the visuals would have been enough to justify its existence. Stretched to a half hour film, the best I can say is it offers an opportunity to snooze in between the other three far more interesting films it's showing with.

The level of artistry and poetry "Swimmer" carries is a feast for the eyes. The short presents the lonely swimmer (Tom Litten) enountering many different people while swimming down a river. At each move in the water and the nature he overhears a couple chatting, some kids playing (who latter on attack him with spears while he's underwater) and many more; and there's a moment when his thoughts about his challengeable task echoes a great classic film by Tony Richardson with a memorable line from "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner".

An amazing black-and-white cinematography and the haunting musical score that goes from a lovely and sweet jazz piece to a haunting thrilling music when the night comes and the swimmer is attacked make it for an interesting collage of ideas and beautiful moments. There isn't much of a story or transformation to make company to those, but "Swimmer" manages to hypnotize its viewers with such collage while we follow the good sportsman, his body connecting with the river at each move. I was impressed by its sheer poetry, visuals and music. A very intriguing short that can work as a nice little moment in the life of a man with some touches of mystery and suspense. We're definitely curious to see what's gonna happen next with the swimmer. It's up to us viewers to fill in the blanks and imagine what goes through the man's head while he's enjoying nature or surviving unimaginable scenarios. We are his company on the ride. 9/10.

Very arty, yes, but somehow captures the imagination - not least to wonder what its trying to say. The use of snippets of music and dialogue from a number of British films of the past 50 or so years - from the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Lord of the Flies, and Walkabout and even perhaps Master and Commander ("Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis") sets up that slightly disturbing feeling of vague recognition and hunting around in the memory.

When coupled with the images it creates a dream-like state, with hints of things half-seen, half-heard and half-remembered. A dream that goes from calm to nightmare to arrival and awakening?

Others may be another interpretation entirely.

You are asked to put yourself in a dream and you are the swimmer. As you swim through the waterways of Britain you overhear what is being talked about and happening on the shore.

It is beautifully shot and if you allow it to, it can take you with it as you swim quietly along canals and rivers until you meet some boys. The "dream" could be seen as a nightmare at this point, but as with all dreams you either wake up or things turn out well. It helps if you are aware of this before you watch it, so you can wind down for a few minutes and drift away on a strange journey. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did

You can take whatever kind of idea out of this film, or you can take it as it is. For me, it was the fine stream of images and sentiments woven among each other that ultimately provided a pleasurable reflective experience. I just let the film flow through me. The rich gradients, the glimpses of life and activity, and the preserved loneliness are very good tools for introspection. This is the kind of film I'll get back to watching every once in a while to keep myself afloat.

Lynne Ramsay is a promising director. This is the second film I've seen from her and her other movies are already in my queue. Looking forward to hearing more from her in the coming years.