Set in the lush tranquility which Greece is known to offer, “Swing Away” is a sweetly nostalgic look at a young woman, Zoe, and her visit to her ancestors’ town after a temporary suspension from her golf career. This escape from her current pressures turns into something of a musing about the idyllic town as she becomes involved with the community and imbues her own love of golf into the heart of the town. Underlying is the film’s sense of hospitality, how people combine their own passions and hopes together to make a culture of their own.

The final act of the story involves a competition for ownership of the new golf course Zoe has helped implement, settled by golfing. Money and power is on the side of the opponent. The town must become one supportive team in order to call the land their own.

What makes “Swing Away” more than your average “David and Goliath” story is how the film spends time meandering around the town and welcoming us warmly to the sites and inner workings of the Greek town. In one critical scene, the townspeople gather to watch a football game in lieu of trying their hands at golf. They come to the conclusion, however, that in life we are swayed between the past and the present. Golf and football–one is not meant to be better than the other; the new and the traditional need not quarrel. Zoe is able to learn just how to balance these, both learning from the past and appreciating her present and those around her who care for her.

Because of the language and use of alcohol, “Swing Away” will not be awarded a seal of approval. All the same, it is a transporting film not only meant for fans of sports movies. In fact, sports movies are never usually just about the sport, and “Swing Away” follows that tradition by becoming so much more.