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Poster for Swing

Swing

2002 · 1h 30m · N/A Comedy, Drama, Music
Directed by Tony Gatlif

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Overview

In a suburb of Strasbourg, Alsace, France, ten year old boy, Max, spends his summer vacation with his grandmother. He hears Manouche gypsy Romani music being played in a local bar, and loves it. He goes to visit the gypsies in search of a guitar, where he meets a young Romani tomboy, 'Swing'. She introduces Max to her gypsy community who live in caravans and down-at-heel public housing. Over several days, Max is taken into the community to witness Romani lifestyle, traditions, knowledge of plants, and particularly their Manouche music. Max is particularly fascinated by Miraldo, the Romani guitarist he first heard in the bar, and asks to take guitar lessons with him (Miraldo is played by one of the greatest guitarists of gypsy jazz, Tchavolo Schmitt).

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
83%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Works as successfully as an ethno-musicological document as it does a love story between culturally star-crossed kids.

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
Fresh

Virtually the whole cast is amateur, but Gatlif knows how to get them to play lovely little vignette scenes.

Ray Conlogue, Globe and Mail

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