Childhood Nostalgia: A Review of Swallows and Amazons.
From Larascottblog
Having never read the original book, but eager to enjoy a good film, I accompanied my dad to the cinema to watch the latest adaption of one his childhood books; Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. I went into the cinema with no expectations or knowledge of the story. I had heard of the books, but never investigated further. It is rare these days that I go to the cinema without prior knowledge as I am usually going after a good Mark Kermode review, or it is a film I have been waiting months to see.
As the film began with the youngest Walker boy playing with boats in the bath, I was reminded of a feeling only truly believed in childhood, the feeling that anything is possible and the world is full of adventure just waiting for us. This idea never goes away, but is turned down almost to mute as we get older, as we discover the world in all it beauty and horror. I have found that it is through films and books that I can bring back that feeling that I clung to in childhood, and Swallows and Amazons was one of those films.
This opening scene of childhood imagination soon becomes a reality as…