About Swimming

The first sequence of About Swimming is significant. Immersed in a pool, Dominique, an open water swimmer, performs an automatic routine that is nevertheless executed with care, elegance, and discipline. Her career is on the rise: she just qualified for the Olympic Games. As she prepares to fulfill one of her lifelong and every professional athlete’s dreams, she receives the news that she is pregnant. The present, which was supposed to be prosperous, has become an uncertainty for the swimmer. Only water – whether in the intensity of the sea, a swimming pool or in her bathtub at home – seems to guarantee Dominique a moment of serenity. The strength of the film directed by Manuela Aguilar and Berenice Vigna lies in the affectionate and calm view on the protagonist, who is seen in a limit situation where her family and sense of duty seem to prevail over her own desires.