I come from the world of aquatic sports and recreation. I competed competitively in my younger years before transitioning to the lucrative world (for a high school and college student) world of lifeguarding and swim instructing. So, when I saw the blurb for Megan Wennberg’s Unsyncable “Senior artistic swimmers (formerly known as synchronized swimmers) push physical, emotional and societal boundaries as they prepare for the U.S. Masters Artistic Swimming Championships” I was immediately intrigued. Now while I’d never taught or lifeguarded artistic swimmers, I had taught adult swimming lessons (which often included seniors), and lifeguarded senior-specific swims and aquafit sessions so I was interested to see if this film would capture the kinds of characters and community I’d see in these environments.
Early into the documentary I had my answer, while the subjects weren’t people I’d met, they were familiar to me. Each person’s reason for taking part in artistic swimming was different, but the underlying reason was the same. Fighting obsolescence and doing the thing you always wanted. I connected most with Joyce Clarke who learned how to swim as a senior in her club in Harlem. She talked about how she got sick and needed to learn how to swim before she went to heaven, and how she never learned when she was younger because she was afraid or didn’t have the time. This was something I came across so much with the adults and seniors I taught they had initial fear, but then when they figured out each new skill, they had the same joy you saw with Joyce working with her team Honeys & Bears.
This film is a joy to watch as these competitors from around North America prepare their routines for the U.S. Masters in Maine. The competitors all come from different backgrounds. You see their struggles and triumphs, and it’s not about the medals they either win or don’t, the ones displayed or hidden in a closet, it is about the joy they get from doing this thing they love. Though as Ellen Scott says, “I beat everyone that doesn’t show up.” Which is a great motto to attack life by.
The film doesn’t just focus on the lead-up to this particular competition, but what’s led them to it in their lives. So, by the time you get to Maine, you care about them and them succeeding in their performance. And again, succeeding for most of them doesn’t mean getting a medal, it means executing a certain move they may have struggled at with their teammates.
The film featured men and women competitors, both the men mentioned the perception of the sport being for women having been one that’s kept them/other men out of doing it. But again, something that with age is something they are doing now and enjoying, and it is also something they are sharing with others. I see this as another one of those things, those preconceptions people have, that when they let go of them, they are able to enjoy their life more and this film does a good job of showing people that no longer care what “people” might think of them, if it will bring them joy, and may make them feel better as they age. And that is beautiful.
Unsyncable had its World Premiere at Hot Docs.
© 2020-2023. UniversalCinema Mag.