Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

eli-stuc I very much liked the fact that this movie is not just one of the many that show the historical facts of that period and the general effects on the population, which just to be clear is very right and honorable for a film. Instead this one has the credit of showing the effects of Nazism, intended more as a social movement rather than a political one, on the daily life of "normal people", and overall on friendship. We can observe the relationship between Thomas and Peter slowly change throughout the movie, slowly but inexorably. That is the point of the film, to show how it is possible that one can change his behavior without even realizing it, and become someone they've always hated, just following aligning to an ideology. Another important aspect of human nature which is brought up in the movie is the selfishness that rises when someone doesn't feel safe; it's the case of Thomas, who starts to not care anymore about his friend Arvid and attacks him just because he's been taught so and he knows that, doing so, he will be in a safe place. Peter, on the other side, at a point realizes he can't take it anymore and he reacts and heads upstream, whatever this choice may involve. This movie shows perfectly how ideologies work from an intimate perspective, and it also represents a wake-up call for people to open their eyes and think about what is really important and valuable in life.

SnoopyStyle It's the late 30's Hamburg, Germany. Peter Müller (Robert Sean Leonard), Arvid (Frank Whaley), and Thomas Berger (Christian Bale) are Swing Kids who dress differently with long hair and listen to American music. They speak American slang, swing dance and abstain from the Hitler Youth. Peter's mother Frau Müller (Barbara Hershey) is under pressure since his violinist father was killed after being imprisoned. Their friend Emil Lutz (Noah Wyle) switches to become a Nazi. Peter is arrested for stealing a radio and Gestapo officer Herr Knopp (Kenneth Branagh) pressures him to join the Hitler Youth. Thomas joins him. The disable Arvid refuses to compromise.This is a sincere subject but the execution is lacking. The story lacks tension despite taking place in one of the most intense places in history. The movie could still be interesting but it decides to descend down a cheesy path. It also ends too soon. The big fear is the consequence of standing up against the oppression. It needs to show what happens after that. There are some solid young actors but the movie fails to live up to the serious subject matter.

Panterken Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale and Frank Whaley give stature to the "Swing Kids", a movement of German teenagers who rebelled against the Nazi-ideology by playing an dancing to swing music in clubs( forbidden for being 'black and Jewish music'). The threesome comes from substantially different standing and differ as night and day in personality as well. Bale brings to life another extrovert character(Thomas), dancing tightrope on that slim line between self-confidence and arrogance. Whaley's character (Arvid) is intelligent and musically gifted, yet bruises like a peach, his emotional fragility a result of a crippled leg which condemns the artist from ever dancing to the music he loves and plays (the tragedy of the deaf composer and the blind painter all over again). These two characters occupy two ends the scale, and are both dangerously unstable, unlike our third and main 'kid': Robert Sean Leanord's character (Peter), an ambitious and idealistic youngster, a type commonly referred to as a 'golden boy', the whole world awaiting to be conquered by him. Yet he also has an Achilles' Heel: his father's death early in his childhood. As often the bond between the gang seems stronger than it is, everyone gets along great when there isn't a care in the world, theirs only consists of smoking cigarettes, guzzling drinks and dancing with girls in hip clubs. When they try to lift a radio in another one of their mischievous antics, Peter gets captured and his hand is forced into joining the 'Hitler Jugend', Thomas happily tags along stating 'we can have the best of both worlds, HJ by day, Swing Kids by night'. Arvid, the most insightful of the gang, warns them of the dangers of getting brainwashed by Hitler's foul propaganda but it could not be helped, soon Thomas takes a turn for the worse and tension in the once so close-knit group mounts. Playful remarks regarding Arvid's handicap turn into insults of impurity, Thomas is so caught up in the world of cool HJ gadgets and perks that he neglects to notice he's being manipulated.The thriller elements don't form the core of the movie, they're useful as a means to an end, to keep the viewer focused so he doesn't miss a second of the interesting characters, the interactions and dialog are really what matters the most. The lack of attention for politics makes 'Swing Kids' special in the war-drama genre. It's a bold yet smart choice. This approach (and the soothing swing club intervals) made it easier to watch than most in the genre, which I think keeps the movie from alienating young audiences. It's pleasant to watch the history of pre-war Germany through the eyes of rebellious young citizens and subsequently (as a young man) being able to identify more with and relate to the characters. The government in place at that time was accepted, just like we accept the supreme command now, it's highly plausible kids could see more light in standing up for a sort of symbolic value namely 'Swing Music' (rather than forming political movements), which of course is connected with freedom of arts...and so forth with freedom of expression. 'Swing Kids', though certainly engrossing and accomplished, is fairly uneven and at times loses the audience's attention with gratuitous melodramatic scenes. Near the end the focus strays from intelligent dialog and interactions towards silent melodrama. Paired with Robert Sean Leonard's underwhelming performance (yet again), it's a small blemish on an otherwise highly recommendable film.

mgoodst I admit a propensity to like movies about this era. World War II and the years leading up to it represent to me the most romantic time in recent history. The passion of the period gave rise to countless films -- some timeless classics and some not worth remembering. This is one of the former. I can't watch Swing Kids without feeling empathy for the youth of Germany who were caught up in National Socialism and lost their souls in the process. While I know little about the reality (or unreality) of this film's portrayal of the young Germans who idolized Swing music and rejected the Nazi view of its degeneracy, I do know that the film makes its point effectively while pulling at the heartstrings. This isn't to say it's overly sentimental -- far from it. Even characters with whom the viewer might sympathize do have their flaws. I think the best cast character in the film is the Gestapo man who befriends the Muller family. His brand of evil is so innocuous as to be virtually invisible ... sometimes even to himself (as at the dinner party when his own decadence was pointed out to him). Swing Kids is well worth watching if only for that single performance. Put it on your queue and you won't be disappointed.