Lights, Camera, Analyze

Just like graphic novels and other forms of traditional literature, movies have rhetorical devices that can be analyzed. One of the prompts we received this week was about visual aesthetics, which got me thinking about the intentional stylistic choices Sally El-Hosaini made to reveal her argument, and that got The Swimmers an award from the British Film Academy (BAFTA).   

    

Sally El- Hosaini at the BAFTA Awards for her movie The Swimmers

In an interview with Netflix, El-Hosaini said, “Everybody feels sympathy when they watch the news, but I feel like sympathy isn’t enough anymore. You need to feel empathy.” To strike the balance between sensitively representing the Mardini sisters’ story and creating an entertaining movie, El-Hosaini had to tread carefully.  

When asked about which scene was the most exciting/emotional, Yusra Mardini answered, “The most important scene for me personally is a scene where the girls are dancing at the night club to “Titanium” and you see the bombing happening behind them. That is a really realistic scene. That’s not fiction. That was our life.”. Here, El-Hosaini showed the juxtaposition between the joyful life the teenage sisters had and the horrors that were happening in the meantime. She also foreshadows the casualties that were yet to occur.  

With a movie, El-Hosaini was able to play around with different points of views more easily than in written work. For example, in the scene where Sara jumps into the sea, there is an underwater shot of her securing herself to the raft and beginning to swim. The camera also pans to Yusra, and the shock and disbelief on her face. A few minutes later, there is a birds-eye view shot showing the raft and the sisters swimming alongside it and then the camera continues to zoom out. Just like in graphic novels, perspective (the illusion of depth and space) can be used in film. By zooming out, the raft seems incredibly small compared to the vastness of the sea, which creates a tense feeling of hopelessness when it seems impossible for them to make it through. 

Conversely, when Yusra and Sara reach the swim clubhouse, El-Hosaini manipulates a different element of film: lighting. The lighting changes to what is called high-key lighting. The brighter lit shots subtly suggest cheerfulness and optimism – which matches the hope and excitement Yusra and Sara have about returning to swimming. On the other hand, the scenes at the refugee camp use low-key lighting, which reflects the dismal mood.  

Movies are so interesting to analyze. Camera shots, lighting, music, and pacing all play a role in how the movie is perceived by the audience.   

Some pictures of the real-life Yusra and Sara Mardini: