Unsyncable: floating gracefully to the top of my Hot Docs list 

REVIEW by Drew Rowsome - photos courtesy of publicist
22 APR 2023 -

The Hot Docs Festival consistently presents a wide-range of entertaining, informative and frequently moving documentaries. While browsing the online catalogue, more titles than I would ever be able to see clamoured for attention. However one title floated gracefully to the top (and not just because I was offered a screener): Unsyncable. Billed as following "six senior artistic swimmers (aged 63 – 82) preparing for the U.S. Masters Artistic Swimming Championships (formerly synchronized swimming)," Unsyncable is actually far more idiosyncratic than a going-for-the-gold against the odds documentary. All the competitors, save one whose rationales are dubious but are explained, are out for a personal best. We never even really meet the competition except for some brief sequences of them, neither named nor identified, during the actual event. Except for one: Shirley, a 91-year-old solo swimmer who blithely steals the entire film and should have an entire documentary of her own.

That is the one problem with Unsyncable, all of the swimmers involved have rich back stories and engaging personalities. Interweaving their journeys to the championships doesn't build tension, none of them are in competition with each other, it just makes one want to spend more time with each. The Harlem Honeybears are funny and flirty with resident male stud and former marine, Luther, claiming he is out to disprove the myth that "blacks don't float because their bones are heavy." His pas de deux, including a flipover, is revelatory after watching him flub a pre-competition "land drill." His aquatic partner notes, "We don't know how hot we are." Ellen who says that outside of the pool, "I need special shoes to get to the bus," learns to apply waterproof make-up and is the brassy heart of Unsyncable. She strives the hardest to improve her artistry, but also gloats that "I beat everybody who doesn't show up . . . I aim to live long enough to compete in the over 80 category. There's not a lot of them left." No spoilers about her medal quest, but there is an unexpected emotional twist.

The participation of Cris, a member of San Francisco's Tsunami LGBTQ team, is the reason for MyGayToronto.com receiving a screener. Cris is unflappable, unstoppable despite a tragic back story, and Unsyncable bursts into exuberant life when the Tsunamis rehearse or perform to the pounding beats of The Pet Shop Boys. His frank, matter-of-fact discussion of the love of his life and the sacrilege of one of his medals are highlights. Stories that are part of our history - "a friend said I had to 'meet this friend of mine who's a bartender at the Stud'" - and point to the future - "synchro saved my life." The members of Tsunami are a classic example of underdogs in the LGBTQ community, rising to the top through sheer force of will, charisma and sexy sass. We also learn about the techniques of artistic swimming (though there is only one sequence that demonstrates just how physically demanding a sport it is) and a few tricks of the trade: Sue only applies glitter to the parts of the suits that will be above water. She debates the merits of putting glitter on the bottom portion for when dives make the derrieres surface.

There is some mild social commentary beyond the critique of underestimating the elderly. We see the Harlem Honeybears making sure the rental they are staying in for the duration of the competition is free of bed bugs and rodents, then quick cut to another competitor entering, then lounging in, her hotel suite. Who knew that synchronized/artistic swimming was such big business? There are a lot of judges, coaches and a small fortune dispensed in medals. But those questions don't surface until after the film has been viewed, the personalities and the beauty of the sport take precedence for Unsyncable's runtime. The swimmers are not idealized or treated comically, they are participating for their own reasons which range from the highly personal to the holistic to finding a sense of family and community. While its a thrill to win a medal, losing isn't so bad. As one competitor quips, "Nothing's devastating at my age. Except death." Or, as another describes the complicated group move 'down the drain' (which does look spectacularly exactly as it sounds), "It can be done perfectly and there are very few things in life that can be done perfectly." Unsyncable comes close.

Of the other films that I am eager to see, Love to Love You, Donna Summer tops the list. Reputedly packed with rare footage of live performances and featuring interviews that discuss the diva's internal struggle to reconcile her Christian faith and her sexed-up career. As one who attended a spectacular Summer concert that deflated when she invited those interested to stay for a Bible discussion afterwards, it is intriguing material. Though I would be just as eager to savour a straightforward biographical documentary on the disco queen. Also topping the list is Much Ado About Dying where a filmmaker takes on the task of caring for his ailing uncle, "an eccentric gay actor." The uncle rallies as the camera records and hijinks, Shakespearean soliloquies and pathos, and  "catastrophe" ensue. The Stroll has filmmaker Kristen Lovell return to New York City's Meatpacking District where she worked the streets for over a decade. The district was known for its fierce trans sex workers and what they have to say, and remember, can't help but be enlightening, infuriating and fascinating.

Blush uses puppets to document a young man's first trip to a K-Mart (for cheese puffs) in full glam make-up. It's billed as an exploration of gender norms and I'm not sure how a recreation with marionettes qualifies as a documentary but I am intrigued by the possibilities. Also stretching the genre is an "allegory" A Bear Named Jesus in which a boy's mother is abducted by rabid bears while attending a funeral on the rez and is converted to Christianity, a bear named Jesus comes to apologize. There are also dozens if not hundreds of more conventional documentaries. In solidarity with another ill-fated, initially well-meaning collector's item, Earring Magic Ken, Black Barbie: A Documentary is undoubtedly a saga. And a counterbalance to the upcoming pink pink pink Greta Gerwig film. More mystically, Coven follows three witches as they research their past, their futures and their craft to reclaim and destigmatize the magic of a maligned cultural force. And who wouldn't want to visit the House of the Wickedest Man in the World, "a tongue in cheek satire" that features not only Aleister Crowley but also Kenneth Anger and Alfred Kinsey?  Now there is an artistic swimming team.