Some people are born with a level of grit, determination, strength and focus that the rest of us can’t even comprehend, let alone emulate.
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| Following railroad tracks to their next destination, and mindful of avoiding soldiers who would arrest them — or worse — this small group of refugees hopes for the best: from left, in foreground, Bilal (Elmi Rashid Elmi), Sara (Nathalie Issa), Shada (Nahel Tzegai, with infant), Yusra (Manal Issa) and Emad (James Krishna Floyd). |
This is one of the rare films that can change hearts and minds, by compartmentalizing a real-world crisis: in this case, the massive refugee crisis that resulted when the 2011 Arab Spring protests ultimately prompted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to brutally crack down on his own citizens.
This saga follows that war’s impact on one family, along with some key sidebar relatives and friends.
Events begin quietly during Yusra’s 13th birthday party, a cheerfully lively event orchestrated by her parents, Ezzat (Ali Suliman) and Mervat (Kinda Alloush). Ezzat, a former champion swimmer, has become a demanding coach to Yusra and her older sister, Sara; he toasts Yusra’s sporting abilities while Sara wanders into another room and watches a television news report on government protests elsewhere in Damascus.
Flash-forward four years. Sara and Yusra (now played by real-life sisters Manal and Nathalie Issa) revel at an outdoor penthouse nightclub where their cousin Nizar (Ahmed Malek) is DJing. They dance blithely, apparently oblivious to the bombs raining down in the distance: a bizarrely callous, modern-day version of fiddling while Rome burns.
The dynamic between these sisters is complex; they clearly love and are devoted to each other, but tension is palpable. Sara has become a wild child: reckless, headstrong, unwilling to respect authority. She also has abandoned her swimming training. Manal Issa gives her a mocking, defiant gaze, as if daring the world to get in her way.
Yusra is quieter, cautious and nurturing: forever trying to protect her older sister from her worst instincts. Yusra has maintained her swim training, fixated on one day competing in the Olympics. Nathalie Issa’s expression is frequently troubled, her eyes wide and worried, her posture suggesting vulnerability.
Sara, knowing full well that things are becoming increasingly ugly and dangerous in their Darayya suburb, repeatedly begs their father to let her and Yusra seek asylum in Germany. The clock is ticking, because — as long as Yusra remains 17 — they then can apply for the family to re-join them; that option ceases on her 18th birthday. But Ezzat refuses, concerned for their safety, and stubbornly insists that he remains Yusra’s best shot at Olympic qualification.
Everything changes, in the blink of an eye, during Yusra’s next local competition: a heart-stopping moment superbly choreographed by El Hosaini, cinematographer Christopher Ross, and editor Iain Kitching.
Finally acknowledging the inevitable, Ezzat agrees to let Sara and Yusra go, as long as they’re chaperoned by Nizar.
Thus begins an incredible — and incredibly harrowing — journey that kicks off with a flight to Istanbul, followed by efforts to contact smugglers, in order to reach the coastal Turkish city of Ayvalik. The next challenge: crossing the Aegean Sea, in order to reach Lesbos, Greece. Distance: roughly 15 miles.
Their group numbers two dozen, and several supporting characters take key spots in our hearts and minds: Shada (Nahel Tzegai), an anxious Eritrean woman with a baby; Emad (James Krishna Floyd), a charismatic Afghan man; and Bilal (Elmi Rashid Elmi), a friendly Somali man. Yusra quickly bonds with Shada, and flirty sparks begin to fly between Sara and Emad.
Smugglers eventually arrive with a patched and badly worn dinghy designed to hold, at most, six people. The old engine barely kicks into life. Almost everybody boards; they’re resigned, having spent considerable money to get this far, and — seeing no viable option — they hope for the best.
Alas, “the best” eludes them.
What occurs next, although perhaps the film’s dramatic climax — and it’s a corker — is merely another in what already has become an unrelentingly grim saga. El Hosaini doesn’t dwell on atrocities, and his film’s script doesn’t preach; neither is necessary. The rising levels of uncertainty, tension and danger are almost beyond endurance … and we’re merely watching an after-the-fact depiction. The actual Sara and Yusra lived it.
And this isn’t even halfway through their long, arduous passage.
The story’s destination is obvious, from the title of Yusra Mardini’s book, but that doesn’t make El Hosaini’s film any easier to watch. This is breathtaking, edge-of-the-seat suspense … and, let it be said, a ferociously memorable example of female empowerment and sibling loyalty.
Matthias Schweighöfer pops up in the third act, as sympathetic Berlin swim coach Sven Spannenkrebs. Schweighöfer’s cheerful, mildly amusing performance — a welcome breath of kindness and concern — is a much-needed relief (also for us!) after so much trauma, insecurity and cruelty.
My favorite sequence: the clever means by which Yusra maintains her physical training, while awaiting asylum eligibility and living in a massive hanger of 100-plus sleeping units, each accommodating eight women.
Patrick Rolfe’s production design is persuasive, in terms of depicting the sisters’ perilous journey across three continents, particularly given filming restrictions that erupted when Covid hit. (Much of Turkey stood in for the many international locales.)
This gripping, fact-based drama certainly will prompt Internet research, and I’ve no doubt sales of Yusra’s book will spike. What she and Sara have done, subsequent to these events, is even more admirable.
You won’t soon forget this one.
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