Avis Metacritic

A corny but sincere weeper written by Jonathan Marc Feldman, directed by Thomas Carter, and shot mainly in Prague.

The movie is a somber, smoothly crafted drama about a wily adolescent who senses there's something rotten going on in his country but can't quite put a finger on it.

Despite energetic dance sequences and appealing leads, the film falls prey to pat psychologizing and some stunningly puerile notions of history.

For its historical detail and recognition that teenagers were around long before James Dean sparked up a Marlboro, this film deserves some credit.

The script is all too often downright clunky though it's saved by vigorous direction (especially in the dance sequences) and performances.

This well-meaning drama was made with obvious passion.

Swing Kids has a multitude of problems, the most glaring of which is its loose treatment of history and the Nazis.

Swing Kids looks good and moves quickly at first; later on, mired in familiar-feeling moments, it flounders

The screenplay is so murky, indeed, that I was never sure whether the Kids hated the Hitler Youth lads because they were Nazis, or simply because they didn't swing.

Apart from its appealing young cast and period score, it has precious little to entice audiences into movie theaters.