User reviews

The central characters in this movie are unpolitical teenagers who have no concern with the larger political issues of Naziism and simply want to enjoy themselves. Their only perspective is that Nazis are stuffy, conformist jerks and no fun at all. For this reason, a number of mainstream critics (among them Ebert and Berardinelli) trashed the picture for trivializing the crimes and horrors of the Third Reich. These critics, I think, miss the point.

The value of the movie is precisely that it is trivial. There is no hindsight. The audience, like the characters, is caught up in the everydayness of everyday life in a totalitarian state. The Nazis are the government, and as far as anyone can see in 1938-39 they are going to go on being the government forever. The war hasn't happened yet. The Swastika flag flying over every post office and courthouse doesn't give them a little shudder of horror; it's as normal as the Stars and Stripes is to us. All sensible, respectable people who aren't Nazis themselves go along with the Nazis, because they have no reason not to.

Auschwitz hasn't happened yet either. Sure, there are concentration camps out there somewhere, but that has nothing to do with normal, ordinary people who behave themselves. Unless you happen to know a Jew or a political dissident yourself, what the government is doing to people like that isn't your problem.

The teen-aged lead characters find themselves in opposition and in trouble, not because they have any principled objections to the government, but simply because they find respectable culture boring and want to amuse themselves. The first reaction of authority, in the person of Kenneth Branagh's kindly Gestapo man, is that all they need is a good talking to, a second chance, and a little constructive guidance in the Hitler Youth and they'll grow up to be good citizens. He's fifty percent right; Thomas does respond positively to the comradeship and healthy outdoor activity he finds there.

The ultimate choices made by the two boys are governed not by principle but by their personal situations. Thomas has been rebelling against his cold, pompous, wealthy father, whom he loathes, and he ultimately decides that being a dutiful Nazi and denouncing the old man to the Gestapo offers him much better revenge than dancing to illegal jazz records. Peter recoils from the Hitler Youth (and from his former friend) because his own father had disappeared, perhaps into the camps, after the Nazis took power several years earlier.

There's's no hindsight in the movie's perspective, and no heroism. Instead, it gives us ordinary, everyday people dealing with ordinary everyday life as they find it, from the viewpoint of a high school student. The movie leads the adolescents who are its target audience to ask themselves an unpleasant question -- would they be any different, any more politically aware, if they were in the same situation? Indeed, would they even realize it if they were actually in the same situation now?

The implicit answer is that they probably wouldn't be all that different from ordinary non-political German teenagers in 1938, minding their own business, going about their own lives, and at most trying to carve a little more personal space than the government wants to give them. That's disconcerting and not at all flattering, which is why Swing Kids is worth watching.

I really don't understand a lot of these reviewers. The movie far from trivializes anything about the Nazis, it simply tries to portray a moment before the bloodiest war in history on a smallish scale.

Would it be better to just have a movie that says "Nazis are bad and they killed six million Jews."? No, because that wouldn't be a movie.

It's like when people complained that a mini-series about Hitler's life that was supposed to be shown on TV would "humanize Hitler". Well, news flash, he WAS a human. That's the worst part, a human could do that sort of thing. What good is it to call evil-doers monsters and then leave it at that? When "Swing Kids" succeeds is when it's portraying the conflicts of youth as their country goes mad. Can anyone honestly say they feel NO sympathy for those who were forced to join the Hitler youth? It's easy to say you would have done different.

And the idea that the music being key somehow trivializes the events of WWII, um, it's based on an ACTUAL subculture, swing kids. There were lots of them and at first they were fairly lacking in politics, but later in the 40s when they were cracked down on more so by the Nazis some were more active.

It's not like the movie makers pulled the concept of kids, Nazis and swing out of their asses, which is what people seem to think.

And at least it was something, at least it wasn't giving in totally. Remember these were young kids, high-school age, nobody can expect them all to be Sophie Scholl.

Where "Swing Kids" lacks is its occasional excessive heavy-handedness. The ending is a bit excessive, something more subtle would have been better.

But as I say, the conflicts between the three main leads are fantastic and bring up questions of what you would do in such circumstances. I think the boys's indifference in respect to the Jew being beat up in the beginning of the movie is a good touch. This is NOT about the holocaust, because it was just starting and was largely unknown at the time. I hate when people can't lose what they know to watch a movie.

I recommend everyone to read some swing kids history, just look them up, it makes the movie much better and more interesting to know the facts.

This is a fairly good movie with very good acting, great great music and costumes, a great story that was influenced by deeply interesting history, and too much heavy handedness.

But seriously, who can resist a movie put out by Disney that includes the line of dialog "You're turning into a f*cking Nazi!"?

I remember watching some of this movie in high school(way back when, 2001 I think) when we were learning about World War II. Many of us students kept asking the teacher what it was like to live in Germany at the time and wondered if everyone in Germany was a Nazi? So, they started this movie, but I had something else that day to do, so I only saw a part of this movie. I'm glad though that my mom picked it up recently because this movie had been stuck in my head for so long.

It's about the "Swing Kids", a group of teenagers and young adults who refused to join the Nazi's, yet they lived in Germany while watching American films and danced to swing music. They also wore their hair long and didn't agree with the rest of Germany on Hitler's views. There is a group of friends, Peter, Arvid, and Thomas, Peter is forced to join the Nazi school, Thomas joins with just to keep him company. Day by day they are drilled and slammed in the head with German propaganda. Peter and Arvid try to stay strong, but Thomas is starting to loose it and becomes a Nazi himself.

Swing Kids has a great story of morals and ethics, what happens when something so strong can split a friendship, but something so wonderful as music, swing to be exact, can bring them together. It's a beautifully acted and heart breaking story. I wish the rating was a little higher, yeah, it's not a perfect film, but it was a lot better than a 6.1.

8/10

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.

Teens have been rebellious for all of time, apparently. The "swing kids" in the movie are German teens between the ages of 14-18 who grow their hair out long and go out dancing all night in swing clubs and live by their motto: "Swing Heil". Obviously teens being rebellious is dangerous enough but the swing kids are engaging in the celebration of American culture, even much of the music they listen to being recorded by African-American and Jewish artists. You understand where I'm going with this. It is very dangerous but they're teenagers and have to have what they're told they can't. So let's get into this:

Our two leads, friends Thomas (a young Christian Bale) and Peter (a young Robert Sean Leonard), are members of the swing kid group and are later forced to join the Hitler-Jungen ("Hitler's Youth" or "Hitler's Boys" in English) and being teenagers they comply but at night still continue to sneak out to go dancing. Let's just say this doesn't turn out well, for anyone. Thomas begins to enjoy the feeling of the swastika on his arm and Peter begins to question his own morals as well as his friends. There's a quite incredible scene shared by the two toward the climax of the film where they get into a heated argument over those said morals. It's really interesting to me to really see what that program did to kids. Thomas was only there because he had to be and was getting into fights and mocking the Nazis early in the film, only to become one in the end.

The friendship between is probably the strongest part of the movie. The second being the gorgeous choreography. I don't know, maybe it's the musical theatre nerd in me but I'm just a sucker for a good dance sequence. And this movie has plenty! Now here comes the part of the show where I address all the problems and in all honesty, I was surprised at the amount of hate this film received. It even made it on legendary critic Roger Ebert's most hated movies list. Let me say it right now, this movie is not bad. Maybe it's not the best, maybe you don't like it, but I'm still quite confused as to why it's hated as much as it is. The biggest problem I hear with it (besides the lackluster script) was that it was too tame. It does feature characters getting beaten up badly (you do see blood for those scenes) and characters dying, one character must even deliver the cremated ashes of those who were considered enemies of the state door to door! It is PG-13 and would've received an R rating had it been as gruesome as many critic's wanted. But it's not really about the Holocaust. It's a story about expression and trying to survive and stay true in a world where that's virtually impossible to do. And that is one of the strengths of the movie

Usually missed opportunity films leave me feeling cheated out of my money or just plain miserable or frustrated. Some even make me wonder why I ever watched movies and make me ashamed that I watch/review them in my spare time. This one is interesting. Question of the day that usually determines how I rank movies: will I watch it again? I...don't know. Knowing myself, I probably would, mostly for the swing sequences. Verdict: I don't think this movie was very bad, nor was it very good. I liked it unironically which should mean it's good, right? I actually don't really know. Ah, well, I thought it was all right. It's still a riveting and interesting story that I'm glad I've seen. It earns itself a solid seven out of ten. Think I might as well give it that.

This was a real eye-opener! Even to old fogies like me, "Swing" is associated with being the music of our PARENTS. In "Swing Kids" we see it being very much the Rock'n'Roll of the 30's, with all the attendant counter-culture and generational rebellion elements that implies. When you add to that the setting of the film in the ascendant days of Nazism in Germany, the contrast is both amplified and rendered a much more serous business than just adolescent highjinks. I suppose when you strip away everything else, this is a "loss of innocence" movie, but that doesn't do justice to its meticulous production values, uniformly excellent acting, or tight scripting and direction. If the theme is old, the angle is new and very apropos: I was enrapt from beginning to end. (Look for Noah Wyle just before he became a medical student on ER!)

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 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 to children 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.

I remember seeing the trailer for this movie in 1993 and sitting in the theater slack-jawed. As another reviewer said, it looked like "GREASE With Swastikas." Or more accurately, it's HOGAN'S HEROES meets THE BREAKFAST CLUB, with Kenneth Branagh as Colonel Klink. In any case, watching the trailer, I was shocked by the sheer tastelessness of the whole concept, and I avoided the film like the plague.

Many years later, I rented the film from the library, and was surprised to find that it's . . . really not that bad. The music is amazing, the dancing is great, and a lot of the teen friendships and heartbreak are surprisingly touching.

What sinks the movie is that the director Thomas Carter can't edit and never settles on a single story line to follow. There's too much going on, and moments of danger and terror are buried under endless scenes of squabbling and teenage silliness.

Some performances are brilliant. Christian Bales steals every scene he's in, going from being a great guy and the ideal best friend to being a terrifying Nazi informer. He's playing the same part Marcus Boyd played in BEN HUR, only he's much, much, better at it. The only problem is, Robert Sean Leonard is no Charlton Heston! He just looks weak through most of the movie, and when he hits the dance floor alone in the epic finale he just looks like a boy on the verge of an epileptic fit. You can't jitterbug your way out of Germany, son!

On the far side of brilliant, Kenneth Branagh is unquestionably the world's least menacing Nazi. What's next, Hugh Grant as Heinrich Himmler? Branagh's flabby face and tired physique give the impression of a guy nursing a pint in some pub, not a brutal killer and master manipulator. It's really pathetic that Christian Bales is half his age and ten times more deadly!

One final note: Tushka Bergen was perfectly cast and stunning as Evie. The trailer makes it look like she's a major love interest in the film, but you only see about five minutes of her in the movie.

Did I mention that Thomas Carter doesn't know how to edit?

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.

I don't know how anyone can watch this movie and say it's not a good film. There are so many elements that make it great. I fell in love with this movie in 1993 when I was only 13 years old and it has been one of my all time favorites ever since. I think all actors (especially Robert Sean Leonard)did an amazing acting job. I think it is important to see different aspects of WWII and this is a unique perspective--showing how many Germans were not all of Hitlers mentality but even if they weren't in the beginning it is important to see how his brainwashing tactics eventually affected even the youngest of Germans. Anyway, I think this is an under rated film.

I liked that movie. It shows us another face of Germany during WWII. The Swing Kids, just like the Zazous in France, were dancing to the rhythm of jazz. And the music is pretty good in this movie, so is the dancing. The acting is not that bad neither.

Out of 100, I gave it 81.

It has a good cast, an interesting topic, and is set in a period in history that is fascinating and horrifying, and in spite of it when the the movie ended I burst out laughing. Also, either the actors can't dance that well and the editor stinks at handling dance sequences, or the actors can't dance at all and the editor managed to hide that.

The trailer (years ago) gave me the impression that there was a lot of dancing in the movie, and that it was a romance set in a time of crisis, etc. Well, we have less than 5 minutes of choppily edited dancing in the movie, and the relationship between the hero and his girl (played by lovely Tushka Bergen, who is great in "Barcelona", which is a comic gem of a movie) is more fully developed in the trailer than it is in the movie (and Bergen has more screen time in the trailer, too).

If you want to listen to some great music and see great dancing, watch the documentary "Jazz" instead.

I have always been a very big fan of swing music and am a "Hollywood Jew". I.e., not very religious or observant of the ancient traditions, but still a Jew in humor and emotions. So this movie never fails to make my tear up. To imagine a time and place where not only your seeming friends turn on you, but you can't even listen to your kind of music is a special kind of hell on earth.

The dance and music sequences are wonderful and I can't see or hear them enough. Solid sounds, daddio! However, the film wisely preempts the reverie and jerks you back to the Nazi repression each time. It suggests how those poor "Swingkleine" must have felt. The sweet and sorrowful blend here.

Someone criticized this picture for not showing enough death. I think the boxes of human ashes and the random Brownshirt raids show enough of that! This picture isn't about the Holocaust -- it's about trying to survive when your society goes seriously wrong.

I will always think of "Swing Kids" when I hear the truism: "It don' mean a thing if it ain't got that SWING. Do-wah do-wha do-wah do-wah do-wha do-wha do-wha do-WHAAAAA".

It's hard to find a film that accurately depicts how the youth of Germany reacted to the Nazi movement during World War II. While this particular movie may not be the best at portraying the way things were, it does a wildly entertaining, bang-up job of showing what one sector of that world may have looked like: the swing kids. With their controversial music and underground dance parties, the kids felt as if they could rebel without really rebelling. Here, we focus on three young boys with unkempt hair and an initial inability to conform: Thomas (Christian Bale), Peter (Robert Sean Leonard), and Arvid (Frank Whaley, who tragically has obtained perhaps one or two roles worth of noting since). Thomas and Peter are coerced into joining the Hitler Youth, while Arvid lags behind, finding himself torn between supporting his friends and sticking to the music. Conflicts of interest arise, violence and hatred becomes more and more widespread, and friends and family alike are split up over the issue of who's right and who's safe. Although the narrative and editing styles are fairly average, and no real new ground is broken, this is a genuinely fine film in teaching diversity, individuality, and holding to one's scruples. The performances turned in by the three leads, Kenneth Branagh, and Noah Wyle are remarkable, and it is worth a watch, perhaps a few.

The music is fabulous, the dance scenes won awards, and kids can identify with these teens --or at least sense the joy their own grandparents (or more likely, their great grandparents) felt when dancing or playing 1930's Swing music.

THIS FILM (SLIGHTLY EDITED) WOULD BE A GREAT TEACHING TOOL FOR GRADE SCHOOL ON UP...!

With minor editing of swear words, vulgar sexual comments about young women, (including the teen boys' discussion of hiring women in the red light district) and a few of the PG 13-to almost R dance shots of young womens' undergarments replaced with milder shots of women in the otherwise joyful dance segments...

SWING KIDS could be used to SHOW KIDS how the Nazis COULD QUICKLY transform the innocent ................into the guilty.

Teachers could use clips from this film to ALSO teach persons about the almost FORGOTTEN Holocaust against the disabled...

"Arvid was a cripple. He didn't belong..." says one TEENAGER.

Everyone KNOWS the Nazis persecuted the Jews.

But the Nazis also persecuted - the DISABLED, like the character Arvid, (a great SWING musician) who is driven to extreme action - in part maybe because he was disabled.

One senses these teen boys - and their fellow teen companions - love their music and dance as much as teens do today. They deal with the steady, sometimes seductive, sometimes violent, advance of Nazis into their world...partly thru dance. (PS this film is based on actual German teens who loved swing music)

In reading the reviews, there appears to be some disbelief that the Nazis saw the "Swing" movement as any real threat. In Peter Profield's excellent 1991 Himmler biography, he makes it quite clear that the official party line was that "Swing" was a subversive evil, as much as any White Rose activity. As for inconsistencies in Bale's character, understand that he is merely a "joiner". When the Swing Kids seem like the trend, he's into them. When the Jugeund seem like the better trend, that's what he wants to do.....typically adolescent.

This a nice film that covers some pretty heavy moral and ethical questions regarding loyalty, family, country, personal safety and integrity.

All to the back drop of swing music.

As a drama some of the dance sequences go on a little too long but that's a minor complaint. The cast do a pretty good job and they must be congratulated for the time and effort they obviously put in to deliver some fairly complex dance moves.

Its a good food for thought movie.

Bon Appetit!

Say what you will about this film - say it's boring, say it's the greatest film of all time, say it was mediocre, say it was awful - i mean it, say WHATEVER you want (after all, we are, every last one one of us, entitled to our opinions); But know this one absolute fact: the very last scene in this film makes this movie great. If you couldn't stand the movie, when you get to the end, you're thinking, "I wasn't gypped". & if you loved it, when you get to the end, you're thinking,"Just when I thought it couldn't get any better...". Perhaps you find me silly or melodramatic, but it would be morally wrong for me not to send out this information into the universe. So, Robert Sean Leonard's "last dance", so to speak, is cinematic genius, film history, an honor to watch. Thank God beauty still exists in our menial lives.

This is not only a bad film. It is irresponsible because it doesn't even bother to check facts. How could any movie maker mix up the year of the Munich agreement or have SA brown shirts beating people up in 1939 when they and their leader Erich Roehm were liquidated in 1934. Yet several of the comments from teens here on IMDb suggest that they accept it as factual history. I wasn't surprised to see that Disney and Buena Vista, an organization with little concern for accuracy, was involved. Then there was the language and the antics of the teenagers. Everybody speaks with a German accent except the principals who are cool cats right out of Cincinatti. They didn't say "Hey man" in 1939 even in the United States. Even the wildest German teenager in 1939 would not have worn long hair, had the zoot suit clothing or acted with the sort of abandon that was portrayed. I don't know if there really were devotees of swing music in Nazi Germany. There probably were. But they certainly were neither as numerous, as above board nor as thoroughly "Americanized" as those portrayed in the movie. It's an absurd and badly done motion picture that in trying to be profound succeeds only in achieving banality.

Words can't describe how horrendous this film is. There is absolutely nothing in this film worth anyone's time or money, except perhaps some of the music. The acting's flat, with a bunch of talentless pretty boys trying to instill drama into script more lifeless than a slab of formica.

Swing Heil, indeed. This film is hideously awful.

This movie does a great job of showing a different angle on the WW2 time period. The struggles the youth of Germany went through during that time were portrayed very well. People complain that this movie doesn't show the horror of the holocaust and the awful persecution the Jews faced, but that is not what it's trying to do! We all read or hear about what the Nazis did to the Jews (& other minorities) and think that the Germans must have been horrible people to have even gone along with this. But this shows how the propaganda they were constantly fed--as well as the activities & sense of belonging the HJ (Hitler Jungen) experienced--could slowly twist their minds to the Nazi way of thinking. One of the excellent things about this movie is how it shows how the main characters change. The changes in Peter & Thomas come very slow and natural, and only when you get to the end (and maybe re-watch it) do you realize how drastically they have changed their views. (Thomas especially)

There were some not-so-great things about the movie, like some characters or scenes which, when you think back, seem to have been included for an unknown reason. But the good points of the movie out-weigh the minor nit-picks. The swing music and dancing in the movie was awesome, and I thought all the characters were acted very well by the actors. They did a good job of showing the confusion that the young Germans must have felt, not knowing who was right. All in all, I really enjoyed this movie, and I think it makes you think as well.