Swing (2002 film)
Encyclopedia
Synopsis
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 SchmittTchavolo Schmitt
Tchavolo Schmitt is a noted guitarist in gypsy jazz. He had some success with others in the 1970s, but then settled in Strasbourg and left the professional circuit for a time. He started putting out albums under his own name in 2000...
).
Max and Swing develop a close bond, set to many strong and catchy musical moments (some featuring the music of Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
). Max hears from a chainsmoking grandmother (played by Helene Mershtein) how she and one other child were the sole survivors of a group or Romani interred and shot durimg the Second World War. The mixed Algerian/Romany heritage of the Director is given homage by featuring a musical jam session with Miraldo and Khalid, played by Abdellatif Chaarani.
The film comes to a climax as Max finally learns to play a gypsy tune during his lesson, but just as we surmise Miraldo has succeeded in teaching him, he suffers a heart attack outside his caravan and sadly dies. Following Romany tradition, Miraldo's caravan and personal effects are burned. Max's holiday comes to an end, and Max and Swing part company with sadness. The implication is that Max's Gadjo status (a Romani term designating those who are not of that ethnic group) is a gulf between them.
Details
- Title: Swing
- Director: Tony GatlifTony GatlifTony Gatlif is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter, composer, actor, and producer.- Biography :...
- Screenplay: Tony GatlifTony GatlifTony Gatlif is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter, composer, actor, and producer.- Biography :...
- Cinematography: Claude Garnier
- Original Music: Mandino Reinhardt, Tchavolo Schmitt, Abdellatif Chaarani, Tony GatlifTony GatlifTony Gatlif is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter, composer, actor, and producer.- Biography :...
- Release date: 20 March 2002
- French and Romany with English subtitles
- Genre: Dramatic comedy
- Duration: 87 min.
Cast
- Oscar Copp: Max
- Lou Rech: Swing
- Tchavolo SchmittTchavolo SchmittTchavolo Schmitt is a noted guitarist in gypsy jazz. He had some success with others in the 1970s, but then settled in Strasbourg and left the professional circuit for a time. He started putting out albums under his own name in 2000...
: Miraldo - Mandino Reinhardt: Mandino
- Abdellatif Chaarani: Khalid
- Fabienne Mai: Max's grandmother
- Ben Zimet: Doctor Liberman
- Colette Lepage: Miraldo's wife
- Marie Genin: Max's mother
- Helene Mershtein: the grandmother
Critical appreciation
- Official selection at the Berlin film festival
- Sections of the movie are available on Youtube, including some of the musical jam sessions, where the clips get many stars.
- Tony Gatlif: "Swing est mon film le plus libre"
- "The camera is everywhere, the music is eveywhere, the joy and passion is everywhere and all rotate smoothly around the spirit that Tony Galif exhudes for films which incorporate the Gypsy culture."
- "Swing is undeniably loose, a drawback in a thriller, probably, but an advantage for a film that tries to capture a fleeting moment as delicate as light on a pond". Rick McGinnis, who gave it 4 stars