Customer Reviews

Swing Kids

5 star:		(110)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This movie gives a new angle on Pre - WW2 German society. The title's 'Swing Kids' are German youngsters who were interested in British and American slag & fashions. Since Germany's official policy towards America & Britain wasn't very sympathetic at the time (to say the least), Swing hangouts were routinely searched for by HJ's ("Hitler Junged" - Hilter's Youths), Swing Kids were targeted by them, and Swing music was hard to find.

The movie's three main characters are caught in the struggle between Swing music and the pressureto join the HJ's. Arvid, who is partially paralized, and is therefore 'unacceptable' by the Nazis, is a rabid Swing fan (which a large part of is a rebellion against the people who won't accept him). Peter is struggling with his father's 'disappearance' (he was taken by the Nazis a few years before the events of the movie). Thomas is just looking for acceptance, which he doesn't seem to get from his family or friends, so he willingly turns into a HJ - just to satisfy his need. The friends split up, turn against each other, and each goes towards his tragic end.

The story in itself is predictable, but since the performances of the actors are quite good, and the period and subject matter of the films are not your obvious WW2 movies, it is a very enjoyable one (even just for knowldge's sake).

I teach 11th grade and when we reach WWII I have been looking for a movie which is good enough for the kids to see that doesn't just show blood and guts. Many of the kids can't fathom why an entire nation would just follow a man bent on the destruction of another race. This movie gives them a new viewpoint, a kid's viewpoint, that they can relate to. They can understand that not everyone wanted to go along, not everyone agreed but few were capable of standing up and sticking to their beliefs. The brainwashing techniques, the pressure from peers, family and fear made it easier for Hitler to gain and maintain control of Germany. I begin WWII with a brief explanation of the conditions existing in Europe when Hitler rose to power and then show this movie. My students always enjoy the movie and come away from viewing it with a better understanding of how Hitler got into power. I highly recommend this film for teaching and/or just enjoying.

Anyone who has stepped on to the dance floor with a live swing band playing knows just how well Swing Kids captures the electricity of a night of swing. Anyone who has strapped on their best duds an hour earlier knows the romance and anticipation captured perfectly as Peter Muller (Robert Sean Leonard) dresses for his last night of swing. This movie was in no small measure part of the impetus for the swing revival in the mid 90's, and I personally get "in the mood" for a night of cuttin' rug with Janis Siegel's incredible rendition of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" from the film.

But what makes this film truly superlative is its honest dealings with ordinary Germans' motivations for complacency towards or participation in Nazism. In Nazi Germany it was in everybody's best interest (save the Jews) to play along. From Peter's mother who just wants her children to live happily and avoid the terrible fate of their father to Thomas Berger (Christian Bale) who finds acceptance and encouragement for the first time, they do so for the reasons that would tempt each of us sorely. The horrible truth of the Holocaust is that, like the Germans, very few of us possess the selflessness and moral courage it would have required to oppose the evil tide of Nazism. Swing Kids is almost alone in its portrayal of this chilling truth among Holocaust and World War II films. Robert Sean Leonard's portrayal of this moral struggle for understanding and courage is very moving. (Of course, there's noone better at playing angst-ridden. c.f. Dead Poet's Society.)

As he dances his last dance, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, the world spinning around him, he finds a rare kind of release that is perhaps found only on the dance floor. And yes, his brother's cries, "Swing Heil! Swing Heil!", in the final scene give me a lump in the throat every time. For all these reasons and more, Swing Kids is an excellent film. Shame that there are no extras on the DVD.

SWING KIDS is an artful sleeper. The story of young friends addicted to forbidden big band music in 1939 Nazi Germany is told with humor, pathos, and sensitivity. At first all addicted to visiting Swing clubs, jitterbugging with pretty girls, and gathering for secret meetings of their fan club, the characters slowly and irrevocably drift apart as the unbearable pressures of conformity in Nazi Germany rob them of their innocence and youth.

This movie is relatively unknown, but excellent nonetheless. Keep an eye out for a young Noah Wyle ("Dr. Carter" on ER) as a Hitler Youth group leader. The music is splendid.

I came across Swing Kids purely by accident when I was zapping away one night. The movie intrigued me; Rebel kids in a WW2 setting of Nazi Germany, dancing at government-banned parties, and listening to banned (swing) records. One of them gets forced to join the Hitler-jugend, and since then gets despised by most of his friends, except for his best friend, who actually joins as well, as to offer his support. They end up on opposite sides; one gets indoctrinated by the Nazis, while the other still strongly opposes the whole concept.

I am NOT going to spoil the plot any further, but ever since I saw this very movie (about two years ago or so) I have been trying to add it to my collection. This movie would be one of my top-3 in my (already huge (approaching 200 now)) collection, following up Lord of the Rings and Pulp fiction. The cast is awesome, their action is extraordinary, the music is excellent (anyone know any dancing schools in Holland that teach Swing-Dancing?), and the story is just great.

"Swing Kids" was truly a fabulous movie. Its a movie about the Nazi's in the time of Hitlers reign. The characters in this movie are astounding, and the actors who portray them put on a brilliant performance. Robert Sean Leonard as Peter, a young man who has made close friends with a group of boys who all have one thing in common that brought them together...swing music, and swing dancing. To which the german nazi's did not approve of. Peter ends up having to become an H.J. Which are basically nazi's in training...It is a fight to maintain balance in a society with no balance. As the video says on the cover, "They fought for the freedom that bound them together" Truly a great movie...I rave to much, and I really hope they re-release it cause I would LOVE to purchase this video! But I won't if it costs to much...that I must say! BUT RENT IT if you cannot purchase it! Another fabulous actor in it is Christian Bale who has done a very fine job in his career and has appeared in such movies as "Newsies" "A Midsummer Nights Dream" and coming Soon "All The Little Animals" and many more. He portrays Peters Best friend Thomas in this movie, and a lot of things between Peter and Thomas change, however, their friendship remains just in a different way as the movie goes. Watch it...you'll love it.

When I first saw the trailer for this film years ago, I thought to myself that this had to be the most preposterous subject for a movie. Imagine: all singing, all dancing, all Hitler. As a fan of bad movies I resolved to see this as soon as it hit my local cinema. Unfortunately, it missed my theater completely, as well as a lot of others, because the flick died after two weeks or so of release. Apparently, a lot of other people had the much the same reaction to that trailer, only they were more frugal with their money than I was willing to be.

It wasn't until I saw the film on cable that I realized it was not nearly so bad as the trailer suggested. "Swing Kids" is actually based on a little known footnote to history. It has always been assumed that in Nazi Germany everyone thought and acted as one. Not so, especially among the youth. While the Hitler Youth was still the state-approved organization, it had lost its appeal, becoming seen as part of an establishment that allowed no channel for rebellion.

Youth rebellion in Germany, as in the United States, was by no means monolithic. In the working-class sections of Dusseldorf, Cologne and Leipzig, gangs such as the Edelweiss Pirates ruled the streets, fighting the authorities and preying on the Hitler Youth (who themselves were bullies, but could not be touched by law enforcement). In the middle and upper class neighborhoods of Hamburg, resistance took the form of English-style dress and an addiction to American swing music. Known as "Swingjugend," they were just as annoying to the authorities as the Edelweiss Pirates, though nowhere near as dangerous. (In 1944 the Pirates murdered the Gestapo chief of Cologne.) By the time war broke out in 1939, most swing kids were either in the HJ or labor camps.

Unfortunately, "Swing Kids" gets off to a bad start by barely mentioning its subject in a 30-second preamble before getting into the plot itself, which concerns the friendship of three devotees of swing music, Peter (Robert Sean Leonard), Thomas (Christian Bale) and Arvid (Frank Whaley). We learn, quickly, that Peter's father was hauled off by the State for being a dissident, and that Arvid is also an outcast because he is clubfooted, and therefore a cripple in the eyes of society. (Ironic, in that Goebbels was also clubfooted)Thomas is a lost soul, caught up only in the friendship of Peter and the music.

Caught by the police for a stupid prank, Peter is rescued by his friendly local Gestapo Agent (a brilliant turn by Kenneth Branaugh, who, for some reason (?), had his name removed from the credits. Hmmm.)and forced into the Hitler Youth. There he is joined by Thomas, who will not see his friend suffer alone. But as time goes on, Thomas is more and more taken in by the trappings of the Hitler Youth and what they offer: acceptance, which he does not get at home. There is no such respite for Arvid, who, as the film progresses, becomes ever more morose and alienated, choosing suicide before the authorites get to do it for him.

The ending is not only predictable, but also cloying, with Peter relapsing back into his former life. As he is taken away by the authorities, younger brother Willy grabs Peter's umbrella and pledges alliegence towards all things Swing with an obligatory "Swing Heil!" Branaugh denounces his former project as a case of misspent passion and we can well say this of the movie as a whole. Too many opportunities are missed and we are left with the feeling that perhaps this would have worked better as a documentary (there were swing kids in pre-war Japan also). This was a movie designed to take advantage of Christian Bale, who lit up the screen in Disney's previous "Newsies," but the ambiguous script and plodding direction let eveyone down and make this, like "Eddie and the Cruisers" a movie best enjoyed on cable or DVD. And at the price of the DVD it is well worth it, if only for the performances of Branaugh and Bale.

Besides, if you already own "the Producers," what could be more interesting than to have the two musicals based on Nazi Germany?

GREAT SOUNDTRACK. I found this to be a very interesting movie about Germany's ban on music, that was popular amongst it's youth, by non-white performers. More interesting was the fact that record store owners came up with a clever way to get the sought after music to the kids by mis-labeling them. I liked the comradery of the group and there dedication to their music they loved and their friends they shared their secret with. It was funny, sad, enlightening and very entertaining. I am so sad I missed out on the original release of the video because now I can't buy it.

When i first saw this movie three years ago, when i was in eighth grade, i fell in love with it. I cried and i laughed and it was all around emotionally satisfying. I have looked everywhere for this video, i beg you, please, re-release it, i wish i had it so i could watch it every day!

I wasn't expecting much from Swing Kids, and I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the plot could be tighter. Yes, the dialogue is a little stilted at times, and the stupidly worded slide at the beginning is a problem. Other than that... wow. The acting, particularly from Leonard and Bale, shows a depth that some actors never manage. Since Peter (Leonard) is the main character, we see more of his conflicts between prevailing opinion and what he knows in his heart to be right. Thomas (Bale) hates his liberal-minded father, and I got the sense from Bale's performance that Thomas is looking for some way, any way, to rebel against dad. He trades the Swing Kid ethic for the Hitler Youth ethic fairly easily. We see him seduced by the power of belonging just as we see Peter step up and do the right thing, even if "the right thing" will cost him his freedom and probably his life. He goes to his fate at peace. My favorite scene in the movie is the one where Peter comes home to find Thomas showing the younger brother his knife. Their exchange is powerful and perfectly acted.

This is not a perfect film. Bad directing telegraphs Arvid's (Frank Whaley) eventual end point, and Arvid serves as the audience substitute, screaming from the anachronistic, hindsight point of view. Whaley almost pulls it off, but Arvid's conflict, despite being very dramatic, rings false.

Peter's preparation for his last night at the club is gorgeously photographed, and heart-rending, and a better director would have found a better way to transition from the slow shots to Peter's manic dance solo with more grace. The movie would have benefitted from de-emphasizing the younger brother, who was really only necessary in one scene.

The very end, with the little brother shouting "Swing Heil!" is one of the most embarrassing things I've ever seen, and it overshadows the fine last bit between Peter and his Gestapo patron. Leonard has chosen to vary his accent from nearly German to casual American depending on the scene. It's obviously an acting choice, but since the rest of the cast didn't make that choice, it doesn't quite work. The director ought to have put the quash on it. He is still underrated as a film actor, but this is an extremely thoughtful performance from him, and it stuck with me. Ultimately, the story of Peter and Thomas, the compromises they make and the reality of Germany in 1939 is very compelling.