The Swan

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The Swan

2023

17m

Comedy

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94%

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18 Reviews

74%

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100+ Ratings

A young-adult Roald Dahl short story about a small/brilliant boy ruthlessly pursued by two large/idiotic bullies.

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Adam Graham

Detroit News

For Anderson, the storytelling is the story...

Rated: A-

Oct 6, 2023

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Sam Adams

Slate

[The] visual presentation and rapid-fire dialogue make [it] instantly recognizable as Anderson’s, but [the] tone takes him into territory so unexpected it might be disorienting if his hand were not so sure.

Oct 3, 2023

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

Lest viewers become even briefly comfortable with the enchantments of his staging and of his actors’ performances, Anderson jolts them alert with ever more audacious contrivances.

Oct 3, 2023

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Zach Youngs

InSession Film

Appreciate the intricate minimalism of the sets of The Swan.

Jul 3, 2024

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A.S. Hamrah

n+1

That's another unprecedented thing, to reveal the Brit under the cowboy...

Mar 8, 2024

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

...an experiment in narration, but to a powerful emotional purpose.

Rated: 3.5/4

Nov 2, 2023

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Jay W

The moral of the story: some people are just jerks. I've never hated two characters more that I never even got to see. I enjoyed the other Wes Anderson Roald Dahl shorts. The quirky narration, 4th wall breaking and stage setting was unique. This is the one that took that a step too far. This comes across more like a glorified audio book with some added visuals. Film is a visual medium, you should "show not tell". But this short does not go with that. I could forgive its unconventional story telling if the story was worth telling, but this story is simply not worth telling. I see why Roald Dahl kept this in a book of ideas and didn't finish it.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/20/24

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Georgan G

Delightful short film about a boy being bullied by 2 bigger boys. Their terrible fun is heartbreaking, but the narration & portrayal makes it all worth while.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/08/24

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Vitoria F

Com cenários mais simples, não atrai tanto o olhar quanto seu predecessor, mas a qualidade da narrativa, com sua gradual construção de suspense, mantém a atenção do espectador e a curiosidade de se ver até o fim. Apesar de triste, é uma bela estória bucólica.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/24

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Tyler G

These Anderson-directed interpretations of Dahl are really cool experiments in how to narrate and present stories.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/24

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Donald A

The Swan is perhaps the best of the shorter three Dahl adaptations from Wes Anderson, as the writer-director paints an elegant portrait of a boy misunderstood.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

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Scott W

Awesome 👏. Good story ha

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

Full Review

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Wes Anderson

Director

Ralph Fiennes

Roald Dahl

Asa Jennings

Peter Watson

Rupert Friend

Narrator

Eliel Ford

Stagehand

Truman Hanks

Stagehand

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Synopsis

A young-adult Roald Dahl short story about a small/brilliant boy ruthlessly pursued by two large/idiotic bullies.

Director: Wes Anderson
Producer: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales
Screenwriter: Wes Anderson
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: American Empirical Pictures, Netflix, Indian Paintbrush
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 28, 2023
Runtime: 17m

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