Men Who Swim

I was forty; my life lacked any hint of rock and roll and I had no idea where I was heading, says the director and protagonist of this film Dylan Williams of his feelings about being on the cusp of middle age. In 2002, the filmmaker and his family moved from his native Britain to Sweden. In this new environment, he has had difficulty finding new work and friends. The only thing that breaks the monotony is his regular Thursday evenings when he visits a male synchronised swimming club in Stockholm. For this bunch of unathletic figures, their hobby is primarily a way of escaping their routine and worries at work. It is also a place where they come to terms with the fact that the second half of their lives has now begun. In this funny and fresh film, the subject of midlife crises is handled with typically dry British humour and ubiquitous hyperbole. The situational, sometimes even grotesque, humour stems primarily from scenes of clumsy practice sessions for the artistic choreography with these amateur swimmers. Seeking purpose in life, this group is not only united by their friendship, but by a common goal, when they discover that an unofficial world championships in male synchronised swimming is going to be held in Italy.