The ups and downs of a French-German family in Munich, 100 years ago
THE SWING (1983)
Anja Jaenicke........................…..Matthias
Lena Stolze......................………Gerraise
Joachim Bernhard...................….Otto
Susanne Herlet......................…..Hespera
Christine Kaufmann................…..Madame Lautenschlag
Rolf Illig.............................…......Herr Lautenschlag
Marianne Sagebrecht..............…Tandlerim
Based on Annette Kolb’s autobiographical novel with the same title, THE SWING is
a lavish, breathless reconstruction of life in Munich towards the end of the 19th
century.
The story centers around the Lautenschlags, a Bavarian-French Catholic family. The
father is the designer of the royal gardens, a distinguished post, but he lacks financial
sense and the family is constantly beset by monetary worries. The mother, an upper-class
French musician, gives music lessons to local well-to-do children to help pay the
bills. Their four children include Annette, known as Matthias -- the youngest, plain,
brusque but with aspirations of becoming a conductor -- through whose eyes the events
are mainly seen. The film chronicles the mundane and funny crises the family muddles
through with a great generosity of spirit. Hailed at its release as “the FANNY AND
ALEXANDER of 1984,” THE SWING shares much of Bergman’s exuberance and passion for
period detail. Although the world portrayed is one of a chaotic yet loving and generally
happy family in adversity, disturbing elements are found throughout. In one of the
film’s most striking scenes Matthias is haunted by a premonition of the carnage of
World War I, in a kind of ‘Danse Macabre’ that grows out of Strauss’ Emperor Waltz.
The nineteenth century Munich and the social panorama we see is a lost world, its
humanity held timeless through the full-bodied portrait of one family and their neighbors.
Screenplay by Percy Adlon based on the novel DIE SCHAUKEL by Annette Kolb.
Director of Photography - Jürgen Martin
Editor - Clara Fabry
Music by Peer Raben
Production Designer - Heidi Lüdi
Costume Designer - Regine Bätz
Produced by Eleonore Adlon
A pelemele Film/Roxy Film/Pro-ject Film Production
AWARDS:
BAVARIAN FILM AWARD for Anja Jaenicke, Lena Stolze, Susanne Herlet und Joachim Bernhard
In German with English subtitles, 133 min.
For Professional Use Only
