This delightful family adventure film follows four children who dream of escaping from the tedium of a summer holiday. When finally given permission to camp on their own on a remote island in the middle of a vast lake, they are overjoyed. But when they arrive, they discover they may not be alone and a desperate yet whimsical battle for ownership of the island ensues, where both skill and luck play a hand.
The dangers of an adult world on the brink of war encroach on their paradise and intertwine with their lives in the form of a mysterious pair of Russian spies hot on the tail of the enigmatic Jim Turner. The children must ban together, learn skills of survival, responsibility, and the all-important value of friendship to save a family member. Steeped in the wonder of a child's imagination and set against a breath-taking island backdrop, this is an exhilarating adaptation of a treasured classic.
"...It's heartening to see Ransome's fiction taking on a new and more independent form, suggesting an ongoing relevance for a series of books that could easily be viewed as too dated for modern children. As the kids put it: Swallows and Amazons forever." - Catherine Bray, Variety
"The film's pleasures are simple - soaring landscapes, old-school DIY adventure and some sweet performances by the child actors. It makes for a charmingly old-fashioned family adventure - one that you can imagine several generations of a family gathering to watch on a rainy grey Sunday afternoon." - Dave Calhoun, Time Out
