The Swing is set at a moment in time, prior to World War I, when the dying European aristocracy had its last day in the sun, and Munich was one of the major art capitals of the Continent. Based on Annette Kolb's autobiographical novel (written just before she fled Germany in 1934), it captures with impressionistic effect the events of one year in the lives of an unusual French-German family, the Lautenschlags, who reside in apparent comfort in a small house opposite the Glass Palace, and who belong to the circle of nobility via the father's position as Bavarian royal garden architect. The story focuses on young Mathias, the girl with a boy's name and an impertinent manner, who also has a gift of vision and wants to become a conductor. The Swing was featured at the 1984 San Francisco International Film Festival; Adlon's previous films include Celeste and Five Last Days.