Swallows and Amazons (1974)

Undescribable Perfection

To me, this movie is perfection.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I read all the Arthur Ransome books as a child, and re-read them recently as an adult, but until today had not seen this film.It's well filmed, with only minor plot adaptations (although large chunks are missed out), and the scenery and period details are especially well done. The boats look good!The chunks missed out from the original story do give the film a slightly "chopped" feeling - it's difficult sometimes to work out how the characters got where they are. The acting lets the film down a bit, I think. The best of the Swallows is Titty by quite a long way - Susan is OK, but nothing special, and the boys are both awful - the worst kind of declamatory child acting. The Amazons are pretty good, but as they feature less in the book the bad acting of John and Roger really does spoil the film a bit. Odd that of these actors, John seems to have gone on to have the best career!The thing which the film lacks most, perhaps inevitably, is the narrative. Watching the film made me realize just how the skillful prose of the books draws you into another world - something the film doesn't quite manage.

I watched this over the Easter hols and found myself surprisingly engaged in a film which had no major plot beyond two groups of siblings befriending each and just enjoying their summer. It was a nice insight into how people, in particular children, were in the early 20th century and, at times, I was almost envious of them to be living in a time without the pressure of exams, employment, the threat of nuclear war, terrorism, etc. It does leave you wondering if the price we paid for the joys of technology and advancement in general was a bit too steep.Still, I found it hard to believe a mother would just let her four children sleep on some island for nights on end; at one point the youngest of the girls, aged no more than nine, was left alone and the mother, when finally checking up on the children, didn't seem that bothered. I also thought the eldest of the Swallow boys and the two Amazon girls were a tad too old to be playing pretend games, particularly when at times they honestly seemed to believe there were pirates lurking around a river in the middle of England. And after about forty minutes, I was wanting more action than some make-believe game the children were playing of invading pirates.On the whole, it is a decent fare and an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours if there is nothing else on TV. I think it would appeal to older people in their sixties, who might easily identify their own childhoods with to children and their 'adventures', compared to younger people who want a bit more action and excitement in their films.

I certainly went into this wanting to like it; I am the kind who can be pray to the odd bout of nostalgia... For days I have seen and for those I have not. I may have seen this film as a child, but I have no strong recollection of it. It can certainly be said, however, that childhood memories are in some sense evoked by watching it, seeing as "Swallows and Amazons" deals with childhood; a decidedly different childhood, of course, but there is a link. I enjoyed mine, as the fine "fellows" here seem to; but it is an oddly regimented, conservative ideal that is espoused by the film, despite the tag of "adventure" and the promise of exploration.I have not read any of the Ransome series of books based around these children's adventures, so I'm in no position to comment on them as fiction. I can certainly comment, though, on the merits of this film as entertainment. It is perhaps with a degree of sadness that I sense that it could not really appeal to much of today's child population. Times have obviously changed very much. But books like "Cider with Rosie" and "Carrie's War", less oppressively traditional perhaps, may still have a good chance.The photography is unquestionably very alluring; capturing enough of the visual beauty of a golden English summer of times past. The more metaphorical sides of the "golden summer", or of childhood, are sadly never really delved into. I can see Ransome's work would perhaps read a lot better than this film plays, in this regard. The acting here, of the children, is okay for what it is. The youngest chap is the most amusing; a hapless old chap of a buffer... Roger. And I quote the "I can't see anything!" bit as prime evidence of his endearing, if not all that well played, haplessness. Titty is probably the most endearingly and memorably played, otherwise. The adults make little impression. Not enough of Ronald Fraser's "Captain Flint" figure perhaps... He does engage a bit when on screen. Interesting and perhaps amusing to see that "Zanna" Hamilton, is the same girl who went on to play Julia in "1984" as Suzannah Hamilton...Anyway, I shouldn't be harsh on this film, but it really is flawed. It has its pleasures, and is inoffensively watchable, but one would have to be very indulgent to fully endorse it as a film. It doesn't have enough, frankly, of the wistful complexity that we all know childhood to be composed of. The past is indeed a foreign country, whereas here it is a rather enclosed, parochial and familiar one.Rating:- ***/*****

A difficult story but translated to film almost perfectly.It is not easy to meet the expectations of thousands of readers of these popular adolescent novels once they have grown up. But this is an excellent try.Spoilt to a certain extent my unspectacular casting of the children, but Ronald Fraser more than compensates!Needless to say for a UK film of the period the lighting etc. is professional to the extreme.