Film: Swallows and Amazons – Varsity
A charming and faithful adaptation of Ransome’s novel.
When it comes to adapting many books written in the 1930s and 1940s onto the big screen, writers and directors typically face a tough challenge: maintaining the spirit of the era while allowing a modern audience to identify and engage with the child protagonists. There is a tough spectrum to navigate, with the aim to be more The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe than Enid Blyton.
With Swallows and Amazons, Philippa Lowthorpe and Andrea Gibb have managed to negotiate that dichotomy to produce a heart-warming and entertaining story of childish innocence meeting the mysterious and dangerous world of adult espionage…