Review of Swing Kids (1993) by Thomas L — 13 Jun 2009
How did I not see this until now? And how did I not know of the true story it dramatizes, of teenagers in 1939 Hamburg who defy the Nazis by partaking in this underground swing dance club? This was really fascinating.
And how about that Christian Bale? I didn't discover him until the late nineties with Metroland, and then of course American Psycho. But seven years before that he was already proving himself an actor.
As Thomas, he's one of the most complex characters in the film, next to Robert Sean Leonard as Peter. Kenneth Branagh was positively brilliant as the smooth, slimy Gestapo chief. ER fans might be interested to see Noah Wyle as the former swing kid turned Hitler Youth asshole.
This was just a year before he landed the ER gig. Also of note: This is one of the few feature films directed by Thomas Carter, an African-American with a very diverse resume, but mostly in TV. Based on this gem, he should be doing more films.
And although the coda didn't mention it, Hamburg was one of the most brutally punished cities in the war, we're talking fire bombs a la Dresden. But it did say that the swing movement survived the war.
Amazing. And very inspiring.
This review of Swing Kids (1993) was written by Thomas L on 13 Jun 2009.
Swing Kids has generally received positive reviews.
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