Swimmer

...or a poem. disturbing, strange, seductive. for cultural references. landscapes. music. photography . and the feeling growing up scene by scene. a film of a travel. across waters. or memory. or time. short, a film who must see. not for a precise reason. but for a state. who could be. useful.

Quite near the end, there is a monochrome sequence as Tom Litten swims across a loch, or a lake, with the sun setting behind him whilst Vaughan Williams's "...Thomas Tallis" is playing that is simply gorgeous to look at. Indeed, much of this is an attractive watch as this young man swims the waterways of the UK observing and being observed by people, their pets, their children and the wildlife. The photography shows us the litheness of the swimmer as he effortlessly glides through the water as well as also displaying the beauty of the scenery. That's not a sterile sensation; this scenery is alive and buzzing and vibrant and this almost entirely unscripted film just lets us relax and let it wash over us. The final scene is peaceful, but also quite perplexing... Definitely worth ten minutes.

Lynne Ramsay does a great job here of taking the subject of swimming and making it interesting, something that could have been boring and monotonous in the wrong hands. The visuals and cinematography are on form and the black and white works well.

6/10

Though this film by Ramsay is undeniably Ramsay in stylistically. It is conservative in places, perhaps this is attributed to the fact that the film is a branded film for London Olympics. Though, this takes nothing away from its meditative, visceral trance-like tone. The sound is extraordinary, perfectly timed and lifting the film characteristically. It is beautifully composed and shot. It is merit to the director that she was able to conceive a film which is utterly her own whilst offering a conservative commercial audience a palatable cinema.

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