Swimmer, Lynn Ramsey's, 2012, BAFTA winning short film, about a man swimming across many lakes and rivers in Britain whilst a nationalistic soundtrack plays. The man ends the film by sinking leaving people to come to their own conclusion the process of birth to his death, the man passes through many life events, moments and life experiences while he ages, this non-linear narrative gives the spectators the directors preferred reading from the film. The black and white short film creates an atmosphere to the short, juxtaposes against the environment showing the transition of his life. Birth to death. Childhood to Adulthood.
The film uses many POV shots of the man swimming underwater, representing the womb, him swimming through the canal entering a larger body of water represents his birth. The boys childhood is represented through sharp cuts and a boy walking through a forrest, this shows the boy going through puberty, and his struggles. The boys early mature adulthood is is conveyed through shots between a woman, a tramp and a train which shows his journey. Moreover, his journey, now on foot represents his journey into late adulthood looking back on his childhood memories fondly.
Ramsey uses a a wide shot of the boy floating which is him dying, close ups of the boy shows half of his face, which shows a painful expression on his face, this allows the audience to align with the boy as we sympathise with him, once seeing his painful expression. The final shot shows the water begin to ripple after the boy had 'died'. This ripple represents a cycle, that life will continue.
Overall, Ramsey's short film connotes the idea that no matter how chaotic a persons life is,
the world around them is barely impacted, the ripples are the only thing he leaves behind, being his only legacy.
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