bettycjung
6/15/18. Once again I got a chance to see how underappreciated Robert Sean Leonard is as an actor. I liked him so much in House, as he gave that TV series its soul and decided to catch movies Leonard has been in. He did an excellent job as the protagonist who as a young German teen is trying to make sense of the growing changes brought on by Nazism. It is somewhat unclear what this movie's center was. Was it a coming-of-age movie? A friendship movie? A war time period piece. Or, just a pre-WW Ii drama taking place in Germany. While it contained all these elements, it didn't provide any closure to some of the things that were going on. I am guessing, then, that it was the rise of Nazism in Germany, and how its need for blind allegiance was tearing existing relationships apart. The only reprieve was the joys of adolescence living life through music, in this case, swing and jazz. Unfortunately, the music is taken to represent the Jewish artistic sensibilities that is another reason to draw the line between the growing numbers of Nazi Germans and Germans who didn't want to be involved and just lived their lives. I suppose these are the themes, but one never knows except to say that Bale's character was one of extreme fanaticism that grew out of fear of an unknown future so much so it ruined his friendship with Leonard. Worth catching despite the lack of clarity in the plotting.
Dan1863Sickles
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?
Mark M
DO NOT BOTHER! Horrible acting and average dancing. Forget it I just couldn't get into it when Germany was starving like my home country England. Rotten as I said besides your toenails need clipping don't waste the 90 minutes or so of your life! Furthermore, the story-line was thin and all over the place and the acting did not make me like any of the characters - The acting was over the top and it felt like Happy Days or the movie Greese with swastikas! Sad as the director Thomas Carter, tried but the cast choice was very strange. Willie is there and as Peter is driven away by the police he loudly screams "Swing Heil!" over and over again, which is very silly and pathetic. Evey - she was the worst actor and very wooden. SAY NO!
TxMike
Taking the biblical reference, in this story we have a Peter "The Rock" and a "Doubting" Thomas. It is 1930s Germany and the teenagers have latched onto banned music, "swing" music, much of it by Jewish-American musicians like Benny Goodman. But Germany also wants its young men to become members of Hitler's Jugen (HJ) as a way of preparing them to become Nazis when they grow up.The nominal lead character is Robert Sean Leonard as Peter Müller. But the best performance here is by Christian Bale as his close friend Thomas Berger. They are part of the larger group of "swing kids" who gather to play swing music and dance. A risky activity at this time.The core of the story centers upon Peter who recognizes the evil of the Nazi propaganda, and resists it, while Thomas resists at first but eventually is swayed. The two friends increasingly are at odds, culminating in a fight near the end.This is both an entertaining movie, even though it involves a very serious subject, and also a historically significant one, as it relates to the Nazi doctrine. I suppose, looking at it now, it was the severe viewpoints, the "supremacy of the race", that got more and more Germans to turn against it and resist. As well as most of the rest of the world.
AD
