Miss

GATTACA shares some similar themes with The Truman Show. Niccol uses water as a metaphor in both, as a test of strength for his characters -- here, the young Vincent challenges his genetically perfect brother Anton to ocean swimming races, and when Vincent eventually beats him, he takes that as proof that he can do other things he's been told are impossible for him. Like Truman Burbank, Vincent/Jerome lives a life under scrutiny, although Vincent is aware of the eyes watching him. Both films ponder the age-old debate of free will versus predestination, and how self-fulfilling prophecies hold us back. When a Gattaca coworker (Uma Thurman) does something she tells Vincent/Jerome that she's "not supposed to do" because her genes tell her she can't, Vincent says, "But you did it.

I was wondering if anyone could offer some insight into the significance of the swimming theme that seems to show up several times in Gattaca.

There are three goes at 'their favorite game' between vincent and anton, Jerome was a swimming olympiad. There is also a scene where Anton is swimming in a current producing bath/pool type thing. Perhaps this is because he is plagued by the thought that his 'invalid' brother beat him and hence proved that Anton is not as perfect as he thought?

It was also suggested to me that the scene where Jerome pulls himself up the stairs is also a 'swimming scene', but this never really clicked with me.

Actully the swimming theme keeps popping up for a number of reasons, hense its signifiance. The first race when Vincint looses means that there Anton (his brother) is more physically better than him because of his gentic superiority. The second time the contest takes place Vincent saves his brother from drowing quote "this is how it all begin' (Vincint knows he has the strength and determination to do so and he doesn't look back). The final contest again he saves his brother from downing. The major click in this is that Human spirit will over rule physical perfertion..the main theme that occurs in the movie