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Storyline
The story of a close-knit group of young kids in Nazi Germany who listen to banned swing music from the US. Soon dancing and fun leads to more difficult choices as the Nazis begin tightening the grip on Germany. Each member of the group is forced to face some tough choices about right, wrong, and survival. Written by
Susan Southall <stobchatay@aol.com>
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Taglines:
They fought for the freedom that bound them together.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Christian Bale's character Thomas ends as nearly a polar opposite to his character in the only other dance centric film he's done, Newsies (1992).
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Goofs
At the end of the film, when Willy is running after Peter and stops, there is clearly nothing at Willy's feet. Later, after being told "Swing Heil", he grabs an umbrella on a wet poster at his feet that clearly wasn't there before.
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Quotes
Arvid:
No one who likes swing can become a Nazi.
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Soundtracks
YOU GO TO MY HEAD
Written by
J. Fred Coots and
Haven Gillespie See more »
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".