But big band music and wild dance moves are just the seasoning here, not the food. Swing Kids has a lot to say to young viewers about hypocrisy, anti-Semitism, the dangers of compromise, the seductiveness of propaganda and the importance of standing firm for one's beliefs. These lessons unfold as a tightly knit group of boys is slowly torn apart.
Rivals become friends.
Friends become traitors. Confused, these young men struggle to know their own hearts and reconcile loyalties. Sadly, these conflicted teens also swear, urinate in public, peer at photos of nude women, bloody each other in fistfights and talk of hiring prostitutes. One even commits suicide by slashing his wrists with a broken record. Swing Kids is not a great film, but it has great moments .