In 1939, Nazi Germany declares war on freedom and demands conformity from its youth. But a group calling themselves Swing Kids rebel with their “swing music” from America. When two of them dare to stand up against the powerful forces around them — traditions will be broken and loyalties must be crossed! Robert Sean Leonard (DEAD POETS SOCIETY) and Christian Bale (SHAFT, AMERICAN PSYCHO) deliver gripping performances as two friends who must choose between their individual freedom or loyalty to the murderous Third Reich. Also featuring screen favorite Barbara Hershey (BEACHES, TIN MEN), SWING KIDS is an inspirational and powerful story about friendship — and finding the courage to fight for what you believe in!This strange movie with a niche subject–jazz-loving, dance-loving German kids persecuted by Hitler’s men–almost works, thanks to a good cast who seem devoted to the unusual story line. Director Thomas Carter doesn’t bring the necessary stylistic oomph to the musical sequences, something that might have pushed the whole production to another, more interesting level of Hollywood dream. Kenneth Branagh makes a particularly effective, wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing Nazi official. –Tom Keogh
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May 17, 2008
#1
Ok – I just had to write this review because there were so many rave reviews of this film. COME ON PEOPLE!!!! A movie about kids swing dancing to defeat the Nazis????? Even that one sentence sounds bad. Yes Kenneth Branaugh and Christian Bale are two of my favorite actors but they both need to be embarassed by this horrible film.
This is ludicrous. What is hilarios about AMAZON.com is that you can put in any bad movie and see people who LOVE it. Just put in HOWARD THE DUCK as an example.
Some of these people should not even watch movies!
May 17, 2008
#2
It has become a practice of the Politically Correct to selectively add varios favored groups to the list of the nazi persecuted. People who might be prosecuted or disliked in other cultures that any society would deal with as part of its dayly existence like taking out the trash. Despite harsh anti-smoking laws smokers certainly are not considred victims of nazi persecution.
I find this practice repugnant as except for the Jews, the Gypsies and the Mentally or Physically handicapped, members of these groups could escape nazi attention merely be behaving, members of these groups might also be prosecuted in other countries including those who faught the nazis.
These juvenile delinquents are a case in point.
Certainly this poorly written film fails to achieve the goal of making them sympathetic. One finds oneself unimpressed. All I could think of was how much it reminded me of the awful propoganda pics of the war. The story is bogus. The plot pathetic. The characters are hardly interesting. The ending laughable in its shere propoganda pose like the flag waving of so many bad propoganda films I so loath.
Other than the costumes, this flick has nothing to offer.
May 17, 2008
#3
This movie had a chance to be great. It took a subject of great importance and potential interest and threw in enough cornball lines (especially the goofy and uncomfortable ending “Swing Heil! “) to put off anyone with half a brain.
Robert Sean Leonard and Frank Whaley are good as usual, especially Whaley, but the dialogue is just too cheesy for any actor to pull off. Kenneth Branagh, who did well to keep his name off of the credits of this one, is also excellent as the official who lures Leonard into the Hitler Youth. This movie is also a good chance for people to see pre-ER Noah Wylie do a decent job with an odd role.
All told, this movie was not nearly as good as it could have been. With better dialogue and more action, it really could have been a very good movie. Unfortunately, though, it gets lost in stupid lines/song quotes at the most inopportune times. See it, but don’t get your hopes up too high.
May 17, 2008
#4
All modern Lindy Hoppers and jitterbugs owe a lot to “Swing Kids.” The fact it was even made forshadowed the interest of modern youth in the culture of great music, style, class, and dancing. But the movie is, alas, TERRIBLE. Horrible. period. Yes, the fashion is great, yes, there is a cast of some of the best American and British actors on film. Yes, it has an amazing soundtrack. But the second half of the film goes so incredibly down hill it makes the entire film pointlesss by the end. The lead, Peter, decides his answer to the nazis is not to try to save Jews or join the French Underground, but instead, to go and get caught and sent to a work camp. That’ll show them. So the entire hour and a half you’ve spent caring tfor the character is flushed down the drain. Other than that, there are a dozen errors and almost comical blunders. Many of the lines are stilted, and a comical part of Kenneth’s dinner scenes is how often he lifts a wine glass to punctuate his lines. It happens many times.
Props, however, to the writer, who developed Bale’s character based on the general ideology of the Pre-War victom German people, which is very well acted, and which, after you see the film five or six times, you notice how well the character developes due to his isolation, better than most we see in films. You probably do not want to watch the movie five or six times.
However, this film DID inspire me to take on what has been one of the greatest gifts of my life; 1940′s Lindy Hop swing dancing, and so, even if I tell you it’s a terrible movie, that does by no means claim that it can not give you something very powerful. I’ve owned two copies myself.
SIX DEGREES: Bale and Kenneth Bragnagh are in this film, just like “Henry V”, seven years prior. Kennith and Robert Sean Leaonard the same year as SWING KIDS produced “Much Ado About Nothing” Who introduced who to whom?
May 17, 2008
#5
Swing Kids
I really think that in the product description of movies you need to put a rating, and why it has the rating. This movie was well-acted, but the content was objectionable. This is not a family film. The foul language was not necessary. It was serious subject matter.