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Swimming Upstream

Swimming Upstream

Drama · 2003

A young man aspiring for recognition of his talents battles against his estranged father's sentiment towards him as the father deals with his own demons.

Movie details

Swimming Upstream

2003 Drama 1h 54m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.0 / 10

3.5K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

62 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

58 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

A young man aspiring for recognition of his talents battles against his estranged father's sentiment towards him as the father deals with his own demons.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Swimming Upstream?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Slender Thread

The Slender Thread

Drama · 1965

Alan is a Seattle college student volunteering at a crisis center. One night when at the clinic alone, a woman calls up the number and tells Alan that she needs to talk to someone. She informs Alan she took a load of pills, and he secretly tries to get help. During this time, he learns more about the woman, her family life, and why she wants to die. Can Alan get the cavalry to save her in time before it's too late?

Bigger Than Life

Bigger Than Life

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A friendly, successful suburban teacher and father grows dangerously addicted to cortisone, resulting in his transformation into a household despot.

The Swimmer

The Swimmer

Drama · 1968

A man spends a summer day swimming home via all the pools in his quiet suburban neighborhood.

Shine

Shine

Drama · 1996

Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.

Dad

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The Fabelmans

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Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Russell Mulcahy

Written by

Anthony Fingleton

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush

Harold Fingleton

Judy Davis

Judy Davis

Dora Fingleton

Jesse Spencer

Jesse Spencer

Tony Fingleton

Tim Draxl

Tim Draxl

John Fingleton

Deborah Kennedy

Deborah Kennedy

Billie

David Hoflin

David Hoflin

Harold Fingleton Jr.

Craig Horner

Craig Horner

Ronald Fingleton

Court is in session

Put Swimming Upstream on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.