If one favors the traditional model of fiction film and does not accept freer and more open narrative structures, «Swing» is not a recommended film. It may even seem too foreign for a consumer of mainstream cinema produced by Europe and the United States, for someone who is habituated to the pace of those films, to the point of provoking an unjust rejection of this particular tape of motion picture. Tony Gatlif combines conventional narrative storytelling techniques with the approach to subjects found in anthropological documentary, with testimonies, natural actors and long musical sequences. With the emphasis put on music in «Swing», these sequences have the primary purpose of rescuing "marginal" cultural forms, interspersed with the "classical", perhaps in search of new forms of expression as a means of survival. «Swing» is a film about culture shock and loss: first, it shows the clash of different visions of human relationships, between Max, the French boy who simply observes and becomes excited with music and love, and Swing, the gypsy girl who alternates between pubescent girl and adult woman, willing to lead a juvenile version of marital life. On the side of loss, the film deals with the absence of the loved ones and the disappearance of the cultural supports that give meaning to the life of the group of gypsies. The great musician Tchavolo Schmitt shines in his role, as well as the two children playing Max and Swing, Oscar Copp and Lou Rech. A beautiful film.
