Swing Kids

Ok for you people who refer to all the Germans as "worthless human beings" and talk about how this movie didn't focus on the holocaust, etc....WAKE UP! The point of this movie was to give another perspective on the war. Not all Germans were souless killers. Throughout the movie you could see the consciences of the main characters being pushed and pulled about what was happening. Over here in Western culture, everything is portrayed in black and white: all the Germans were completely evil, and we were the good ones. No one is denying that the Germans committed some horrific atrocities, but there were some who resisted doing those crimes, and others who actually believed that they were morally in the right because of centuries of ingrained anti-semitism. Geez, North America was anti-semitic then too! Swing Kids looks at Germany from the inside, and the different forces that were at work. Everyone knows what happened during the Holocaust....this movie wasn't about that. I think people should look at all different viewpoints before classifying all the people in a certain group (ie all of the German nation) into one cubbyhole of evil.

i have read the comment about SWING KIDS not being authentic. well, after doing a bit of research on this topic (swing scene in germany in the third reich) i have to say that there was quite a big scene there. yes, the film might have exaggerated a bit (the hair was not quite as long and they had to cut down on the way they dressed even though they tried as much as they could on the zoot suit front). but it is a fact that there were dances in different cafes and they didnt like the Nazi regime. so i would say give the film makers some slack and a bit of artistic freedom! they tried to portray a group of youngsters that found cure in music and stuck together in a difficult time. i really appreciated this film as normally you wouldnt know about them at all!!! two thumbs up from me as well!!!

Four German teenage boys (Leonard, Bale, Whaley, and Batrok), living under Nazy reign in World War II, secretly play Swing music, American stuff that's been forbidden, and embrace the concepts of the musical heritage. But this is clearly an act of rebellion, so they must do it in secret clubs at night, avoiding the Gestapo. Their relationships and the outcomes are the study of this film, which is both uneven and, ultimately, very powerful.

Roger Ebert detested this film for the fact that, to him, is unclear in it's message. He feels that the motives behind these teen's rebellion are stupid: It seems as if Hitler hadn't banned Swing music, then they would have thought that he was a swell guy.

Actually, this observation on Mr. Ebert's behalf might be the film's point. They thought Hitler was a loser because of he didn't let them play their music. Through this fact, they learn that there is a much bigger problem here, and they know that they can't conform to it. So how do they rebell? Through the music that they cherish.

Along the way, two of the boys, Leonard and Bale, are forced to join the Gestapo. Leonard doesn't embrace the teachings, but Bale is slowly brainwashed into conforming. Whaley is a cripple, and he therefore observes the Nazis from a different position. He soon begins to despise his two friends for their uniforms. While his character might be an arrogant jerk, it is clear that he's got a better idea about the evil that's going on than anyone else. Bartok is just sort of along for the ride, just wanting to hang out with his friends and play in his music...oblivious to what happens with the Jews or Nazis.

So here we have four chief characters that pretty much represent probably the most basic attitudes of German citizens during the war: Brainwashed, aware, torn in between, and indifferent. The characters are well acted, and the balance and chemisty between them work. The message at the end is very clear and VERY powerful....I am often reminded of its subtle excellence, though I haven't seen it in a good while.

Unfortunately, the film itself is uneven. Almost too much time is spent on the swing music itself. So much that it takes away from the message of the film. The music should have only served as a backdrop, and endless scenes of dancing almost threaten to take away from the impact of the theme. "Almost" is the key word. All in all, this is a most intriguing film. Kenneth Branagh appears unbilled, as a central Gestapo character.

*** out of ****

I'm a History teacher and we use Swing Kids as an introduction to the topic of alternative youth groups in Nazi Germany. I'm not saying that the film is 100% accurate, obviously some dramatic licence has to be taken, but its not far off. Many people on this site have questioned the accuracy, and validity of the film, especially mentioning the lack of consideration of the treatment of the Jews. However that is not what this film is about (if that is what you want see The Pianist or Schindler's List - also excellent films).

This film is looking at how some German youths avoided the Hitler Youth and the nazi regime insofar as they could, and what they spent their time doing (dancing, listening to swing music and being with their friends).It does show some useful aspects about how the Hitler Youth were expected to behave and the propaganda they were exposed to, as well as about swing youth and their attitude to the regime.It is an entertaining and poignant film which explores friendship,romance and growing up against the backdrop of one of the most vilified periods in modern history

Basically Swing Kids does what it does well. Maybe it isn't a Schindler's List, but it does have its merits.Watch it and you'll find them!

BTW - could I just point out, many people on here have referred to the Holocaust, as though it is interchangeable with the Nazi regime, and have used the phrase in their reviews. Just to clear up this: the holocaust specifically refers to the gassing of Jews at extermination camps from 1942 onwards, essentially the Final Solution. As this film is set in 1939 it is prior to this.

"Swing Kids" underperformed at the box office, received bad reviews, but today maintains a cult following. Reading the reviews from the film's 1993 release, critics seemed to be ticked off mostly by the fact that the film depicted a seemingly trivial demographic in a horrific time and place. Their argument was understandable: if such mass genocide and political corruption was taking place, why would we want to know about German teenagers who were obsessed with American swing music? My question is, why would we NOT want to know about them?

Had "Swing Kids" been released some time after Steven Spielberg's epic "Schindler's List", critics may not have been quick to bring up that point. However, "Cabaret" (1972) was also about Berlin counterculture amidst the rise of the Nazi party, and no one seemed to have a problem with that film.

"Swing Kids" is by no means a perfect film, but it also shouldn't be dismissed specifically because it doesn't take place in a concentration camp, and no one can be seen being tortured or killed. It's a small footnote, but by no means an uninteresting story.

The movie centers around Peter Muller (Robert Sean Leonard, who I couldn't help but think bore a striking resemblance to Jim Carrey in this movie), a German student barely out of his teens who, along with his friends Thomas (Christian Bale) and Arvid (Frank Whaley), love to stay out late and dance to big band swing music. They wear their hair long, own zoot suits, and are rebellious against the Nazis at first for rebellion's sake. They don't seem to be phased by the Nazi's propaganda against the Jews and other ethnicities until later in the film, although that point is not clarified well in the beginning.

Peter reluctantly joins the Nazis when his mother's significant other, Herr Major Knopp (Kenneth Branagh), pulls some strings after Peter's arrest involving a stolen radio. His other option is to be sent to jail, or perhaps even a concentration camp. Thomas enlists as well just to join Peter, but they ultimately don't give up their night life of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. However, the more Peter learns about the Nazis, the more he hates them. Thomas, on the other hand, falls into the Nazi propaganda over time.

The overall story is told pretty well here. Robert Sean Leonard is good as the moral compass of the story. Nowadays, I'm used to seeing Christian Bale in either villainous roles ("American Psycho" (2000), "The Prestige" (2006)), or as heroes with a noticeable dark side ("The Dark Knight" (2008), "Terminator: Salvation" (2009)). However, here Bale plays a guy who is a genuinely good friend at first, and his good acting made me forget about his later roles. At the same time, when his character becomes entrenched in the Nazi life, Bale somehow made this dramatic transition smoothly without seeming contrived.

Frank Whaley is also effective as the crippled friend Arvid, who can't join the Nazi army even if he wanted to because of his condition. Arvid plays jazz guitar, and knows a lot about American jazz. He is frequently bullied and beaten by Nazi soldiers his age, but still has energy to rebel. Whereas Leonard is the moral compass here, Whaley is the heart. I can't give away what happens to Arvid in this movie, but you really do feel for him as the movie progresses.

"Swing Kids" has a very good story, and characters good and bad that you really care about. Among the major weaknesses in this movie is the fact that it takes place entirely in Germany, yet none of the characters actually speak German. Normally that fact would not be a problem, but my issue was that the good guys here spoke with either American or British accents, whereas the villains (such as Branaugh) spoke with a heavy German accent. It's as if Hollywood hasn't gotten over the idea that German or Russian accents sound evil, even long after World War II and the Cold War ended. In this story, it goes without saying that accents shouldn't matter.

This is why I think the movie would have worked better as a foreign film made by Germans, rather than an American film made by the Disney company. If everyone was speaking German, allegedly evil accents wouldn't be an issue. On the other hand, "Cabaret" had good guys in it that had German accents. Why couldn't this film?

Also, perhaps I'm asking too much here, but the written epilogue at the end wasn't enough for me. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, not every film that takes place during World War II has to be dark and depressing, but it would have been nice to have received a glimpse of what these swing kids went through in concentration camps, how they coped, and whether they got out alive or not. Maybe such a broad subject could still be the basis for another movie, but just two written sentences before the credits broke the Golden Rule of Storytelling: Show, Don't Tell.

This film would have benefited from being shelved for at least a year, and perhaps being released a little while after "Schindler's List" made its run. Compared to concentration camps, young men in Germany who loved American music seems insignificant in comparison, but by no means does it discredit the alternative history lesson from being told. Critics could have been more open-minded to the movie, but the good thing is that the film now has a cult following. It still nags me that the film wasn't in German, though. At least it has historical accuracy on its side.