Shinobu Yaguchi (Japan)
Although a fair bit of this diverting little comedy actually takes place in open-air swimming pools, it's essentially a fish-out-of-water film. Five young men in a Japanese high school, definitely not part of the in-crowd, are persuaded to form a synchronized swimming team to compete in an annual tournament. In preparing for the event, they must endure the insults of their peers, doubts about their own masculinity, and the heavy-handed training offered by the manager of the local aquarium (played by Naoto Takenaka, from Shall We Dance). There's a romance, of course - the hero (Satoshi Tsumabuki) doesn't want his new girlfriend to learn he's a synchronized swimmer - and a predictable homo-erotic subtext, all of it culminating in the team's performance. It's not Busby Berkeley, just 90 minutes of light fun. - M.P.

(Fri., Sept. 7, 9:45 p.m., Isabel Bader; Sat., Sept. 8, 12:30 p.m., Uptown 1)