Swing

Swing

2002 · 90 min · ★ 7.2 · Comedy, Drama, Music

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).

Directed by Tony Gatlif · Written by Tony Gatlif

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

fuboTV

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 12m together

Both from Tony Gatlif.

More from Tony GatlifSee all →

Safe JourneySafe Journey · 1993
Safe Journey
★ 7.81993
MovieMusicDocumentary
Latcho Drom is a vista of the music, culture, and journey of the Romani people—from their homeland of India, to Europe and Southwest Asia.
The Crazy StrangerThe Crazy Stranger · 1998
The Crazy Stranger
★ 7.41998
MovieDramaMusic
A man is looking for a singer he had heard on cassette. He finds much more.
Les PrincesLes Princes · 1983
Les Princes
★ 7.11983
MovieDrama
Nara, a 30-year-old gypsy, lives with her nine-year-old daughter Zorka and her grandmother in a public housing project in the Paris region.
I ComeI Come · 2000
I Come
★ 7.02000
MovieDramaMusic
Caco is a proud, handsome man, head of a family, and very powerful in the local community. Yet he has been torn to pieces by the death of his beloved daughter. He constantly visits her grave, weeps silently at her photo and has transferred all his wildly protective love and attention onto his mentally challenged nephew, Diego. It seems that Diego's father, Caco's brother, is in hiding after having killed a man from the Caravaca family, who are equally powerful in the community. They are looking for vengeance and have come to Caco for justice. When he refuses to betray his brother, the Caravacas grow impatient. When they realize they are getting nowhere, they threaten to kill Diego. Despite his fierce pride, Caco eventually realizes that the cycle of killing and revenge must be broken. But how can he achieve this and protect everyone he loves?
MondoMondo · 1995
Mondo
★ 6.91995
MovieDrama
Mondo, a young orphaned gypsy, finds himself in France, where he scouts out potential foster families, evades the police and meets an assortment of eccentric people. In his travels, Mondo first encounters a magician who takes on the boy as an assistant. Then he moves on again, eventually befriending Dadi, a street-smart vagrant, and Giordan, a wise fisherman. All the while, the boy keeps an eye out for would-be parents.
Gaspard and RobinsonGaspard and Robinson · 1990
Gaspard and Robinson
★ 6.81990
MovieDrama
Two underdogs, Gaspard and Robinson, welcome an old woman, Mamie, whose family has left on the roadside.
Children of the StorkChildren of the Stork · 1999
Children of the Stork
★ 6.61999
MovieComedyDrama
Three French pals take to the road in a stolen car and discover a talking, wounded stork — who claims to have deserted the Algerian army — and help it to escape to the home of a relative in Germany.
FreedomFreedom · 2009
Freedom
★ 6.52009
MovieDrama
A Gypsy family travels the French roads during the Second World War, followed by Little Claude, a young boy seeking a new family after his parents "left and never returned". Upon reaching a town where they traditionally stop for a few months and work in vineyards, they learn that a new law forbids them from being nomadic. Theodore, the town's mayor, and Miss Lundi, the schoolteacher, protect and help the Gypsies. Despite this, They are arrested and placed in an internment camp. Theodore manages to rescue them and gives them a piece of property where they must settle. But the Gypsies' deeply ingrained thirst for freedom makes this sedentary lifestyle difficult to bear. After Theodore and Miss Lundi are arrested for resistance, the Gypsies decide they must get back on the move in order to remain free.
GeronimoGeronimo · 2014
Geronimo
★ 6.52014
MovieDrama
South of France. In the sultry August heat, Geronimo, a young social educator, tries to ease tensions between the youngsters of the St Pierre neighborhood. The mood changes when Nil Terzi, a teenage girl of Turkish origin, flees an arranged marriage, running to the arms of her gypsy lover, Lucky Molina. Their escape sparks hostilities between the two clans. When the jousting and the musical battles begin, Geronimo struggles to quell the ensuing unrest around her.
The Way OutThe Way Out · 1986
The Way Out
★ 6.51986
MovieDrama
Leaving prison, Paul goes to the port. That's where he lived and where he got caught. This is also where his father died. And before leaving to try his luck elsewhere, Paul wants to avenge him.
Winter SongWinter Song · 2015
Winter Song
★ 6.42015
MovieComedyDrama
Two old friends have urban adventures connected to the skull of an executed French aristocrat.
Journey from GreeceJourney from Greece · 2017
Journey from Greece
★ 6.22017
MovieDramaMusic
Djam, a young Greek woman, is sent to Istanbul by her uncle Kakourgos, a former sailor with a passion for Rebetiko, to find a rare part that will repair their boat. In Istanbul, she encounters Avril, a nineteen-year-old French girl, alone and without any money, who came to Turkey as a voluntary worker with refugees. Djam, generous, cheeky, unpredictable, and free-spirited, takes Avril under her wing on the way to Mytilene. A journey filled with encounters, music, sharing, and hope.
ExilesExiles · 2004
Exiles
★ 6.12004
MovieAdventureDrama
One day Zano suggest a crazy idea to his companion Naïma: travel across France and Spain down to Algeria, where they might ultimately come to know the land their parents once had to flee.
Canta GitanoCanta Gitano · 1982
Canta Gitano
★ 6.01982
Movie
A short dance performance.
TransylvaniaTransylvania · 2006
Transylvania
★ 5.62006
MovieDrama
Zingarina arrives in Transylavania, accompanied by her close friend Marie and her guide and interpreter Luminitsa. She is not there only to visit this region of Romania but to trace her lover Milan, a musician who has made her pregnant and who left her without a word of explanation. When she finds him back, he brutally rejects her and Zingarina is terribly upset. She leaves her two companions and having become a wreck she hardly survives by following a wandering little girl. Her destiny changes for the best when she meets Tchangalo, a traveling trader...
AngeAnge · 2025
Ange
★ 5.52025
MovieDramaComedy
Ange, a rootless musician, feels a vital need to reconnect and make peace with his old friend Marco. Solea, his past love’s daughter revolted against her era, joins him on this journey. Together, they rediscover the path to joy.

More Like This

42nd Street42nd Street · 1933
42nd Street
★ 6.91933
MovieComedyDrama
Broadway director Julian Marsh needs just one more hit show so he can retire and recover his health. It looks like he just may pull it off until temperamental star Dorthy Brock breaks her ankle on the eve of the show's premiere and has to be replaced by her understudy Peggy.
Duck SoupDuck Soup · 1933
Duck Soup
★ 7.31933
MovieComedyWar
Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.
A Star Is BornA Star Is Born · 1954
A Star Is Born
★ 7.11954
MovieDramaMusic
A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet FrankensteinAlvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein · 1999
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein
★ 6.81999
MovieAnimationComedy
The Chipmunks work in an amusement park attraction. After Alvin drives a crazy tour group, they miss their next performance and are locked in the park after closing time. Little do they know that the real Dr. Frankenstein has been hired in a new attraction called, "Frankenstein's Castle"; figuring that the castle isn't scary enough, the mad scientist recreates the real Monster.
HairsprayHairspray · 2007
Hairspray
★ 6.72007
MovieComedyRomance
Pleasantly plump teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions to be on Baltimore's most popular dance show - The Corny Collins Show - and lands a prime spot. Through her newfound fame, she becomes determined to help her friends and end the racial segregation that has been a staple of the show.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the DesertThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert · 1994
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
★ 7.31994
MovieDramaComedy
Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
An American in ParisAn American in Paris · 1951
An American in Paris
★ 7.01951
MovieMusicRomance
Jerry Mulligan is an exuberant American expatriate in Paris trying to make a reputation as a painter. His friend Adam is a struggling concert pianist who's a long time associate of a famous French singer, Henri Baurel. A lonely society woman, Milo Roberts, takes Jerry under her wing and supports him, but is interested in more than his art.
The Young Girls of RochefortThe Young Girls of Rochefort · 1967
The Young Girls of Rochefort
★ 7.71967
MovieRomanceComedy
In the seaside town of Rochefort, twin sisters Delphine and Solange dream of love and artistic fulfillment beyond their quiet lives. As sailors, artists, musicians, and chance visitors pass through town during a weekend fair, a web of near-misses and romantic longing brings ideal partners tantalizingly close—without their realizing it.
Top HatTop Hat · 1935
Top Hat
★ 7.21935
MovieMusicComedy
Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace's hotel room, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Complications arise when Dale mistakes Jerry for Horace.
Yankee Doodle DandyYankee Doodle Dandy · 1942
Yankee Doodle Dandy
★ 7.01942
MovieDramaMusic
A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter