Review of Swing Kids (1993) by Ken C — 04 Jan 2017

Reading the top critics, one would think that they only watched the first 20 minutes and abandoned the film out of high dudgeon. The main criticism seems to have been that these "kids" were too flippant and self-absorbed that they barely cared at all about what was happening around them.

Well, they must have seen a different film from the one here, because the main characters are anything but flippant, trying to get a grip on what is happening in their midst without losing themselves completely to facility and pragmatism.

Each finds his own way after hesitating at the beginning, but "swing" is simply a metaphor for freedom. And he message here is that even if one loses the "war" against the Nazis, if one keeps one's integrity, then all is not lost.

Not a bad message in our times, with Brexit and Trump and populism on the rise once again. This film has a lot to say for itself, and Robert Sean Leonard gives a beautifully rich performance which is well worth the price of admission.

Everyone is remarkably good, in fact, and I would recommend this film highly.