WARNING: THIS COMMENT CONTAINS SPOILERS, CLEARLY MARKED IN THE TEXT.
I can honestly say that no movie has ever moved me in the same way that this one has. We watched it in history class, and at the beginning my friends and I, who didn't know what swing kids were, thought that the title sounded somewhat jazzy and lighthearted.
How wrong we were. As the movie changed from the story of three teenage friends to the story of the choices every person in the nation had to make, we were all utterly captivated. True, I go to an all-girls school, and so the presence of Christian Bale probably didn't hurt our liking of the movie. But it wasn't just that.
The story, set in the late 1930's, is about the "Swing Kids" movement in the youth at the time that Hitler was gaining power and Germany was becoming more and more fascist. Fascism was all about conformity, being the same everyone else and putting the state in front of yourself. Swing dancing was and still is clearly about being an individual, and as a result, the swing clubs were slowly being banned. The swing kids remained defiant, even making up their own mockery of the Nazi salute: "Swing Heil!"
SPOILER ALERT
Each progressive scene at the Cafe Bismarck gets worse. The first shows a happy evening, the second a close call, the third the official closing of the club, and the last is the end of the movie.
SPOILER ENDED
The movie focuses on three teenage guys, Peter, Thomas, and Arvid. As the movie progresses, it's clear that the three are all searching for something. Thomas, who has a cold relationship with his father, is looking for acceptance. Peter, whose father mysteriously disappeared, returned home, and died, is looking for answers. And Arvid, a cripple who plays the guitar, is looking for a way out of a society that is beginning to sicken him.
The rest of the movie is about the choices that each one makes as the fascist society progresses around them and forces them to decide what stance they want to take.
SPOILER ALERT
When Peter attempts to steal a radio for his friend Arvid, he is given an unofficial ultimatum--join the HJ (Hitler Youth) or your mother and younger brother will be in danger. When Peter joins, Thomas joins too, saying that he did it because of his friendship with Peter and says that they can be HJ by day and swing kids by night.
SPOILER ENDED
Throughout the movie, it is clear that the three friends are drawing apart, and in the end, each makes a different choice, finding in that choice what they were looking for in the beginning.
The entire movie, while maybe not entirely historically accurate, is still an amazing film. The swing music played in it is not just an element of the background, it sends its own message. The acting is mostly flawless--my only minor point is that Emil, the HJ leader, is not very convincing. But what makes the movie really work is the powerful emotions drawn out of the viewer--happiness, despair, horror, hope, betrayal. It's the only movie that has ever made me cry.
As my history teacher said, "In many ways, the movie is somewhat cushioned. It only shows a small part of the time period and in some ways isn't incredibly historically accurate. But it's incredibly personal, and that's what gets you." An excellent movie, 10 out of 10. Words simply fail me.
I can honestly say that no movie has ever moved me in the same way that this one has. We watched it in history class, and at the beginning my friends and I, who didn't know what swing kids were, thought that the title sounded somewhat jazzy and lighthearted.
How wrong we were. As the movie changed from the story of three teenage friends to the story of the choices every person in the nation had to make, we were all utterly captivated. True, I go to an all-girls school, and so the presence of Christian Bale probably didn't hurt our liking of the movie. But it wasn't just that.
The story, set in the late 1930's, is about the "Swing Kids" movement in the youth at the time that Hitler was gaining power and Germany was becoming more and more fascist. Fascism was all about conformity, being the same everyone else and putting the state in front of yourself. Swing dancing was and still is clearly about being an individual, and as a result, the swing clubs were slowly being banned. The swing kids remained defiant, even making up their own mockery of the Nazi salute: "Swing Heil!"
SPOILER ALERT
Each progressive scene at the Cafe Bismarck gets worse. The first shows a happy evening, the second a close call, the third the official closing of the club, and the last is the end of the movie.
SPOILER ENDED
The movie focuses on three teenage guys, Peter, Thomas, and Arvid. As the movie progresses, it's clear that the three are all searching for something. Thomas, who has a cold relationship with his father, is looking for acceptance. Peter, whose father mysteriously disappeared, returned home, and died, is looking for answers. And Arvid, a cripple who plays the guitar, is looking for a way out of a society that is beginning to sicken him.
The rest of the movie is about the choices that each one makes as the fascist society progresses around them and forces them to decide what stance they want to take.
SPOILER ALERT
When Peter attempts to steal a radio for his friend Arvid, he is given an unofficial ultimatum--join the HJ (Hitler Youth) or your mother and younger brother will be in danger. When Peter joins, Thomas joins too, saying that he did it because of his friendship with Peter and says that they can be HJ by day and swing kids by night.
SPOILER ENDED
Throughout the movie, it is clear that the three friends are drawing apart, and in the end, each makes a different choice, finding in that choice what they were looking for in the beginning.
The entire movie, while maybe not entirely historically accurate, is still an amazing film. The swing music played in it is not just an element of the background, it sends its own message. The acting is mostly flawless--my only minor point is that Emil, the HJ leader, is not very convincing. But what makes the movie really work is the powerful emotions drawn out of the viewer--happiness, despair, horror, hope, betrayal. It's the only movie that has ever made me cry.
As my history teacher said, "In many ways, the movie is somewhat cushioned. It only shows a small part of the time period and in some ways isn't incredibly historically accurate. But it's incredibly personal, and that's what gets you." An excellent movie, 10 out of 10. Words simply fail me.