White Palms (2006)

So, I've recently seen this movie, and have very mixed feelings about it. It's like 2 different movies, and as such, has its ups and downs.Long story short: it is the story of Dongó (Zoltán Miklós, Hajdú), a Hungarian gymnast, whose career had been broken in two, due to a childhood accident. 19 years later, he starts to rebuild his life in Canada, where he becomes a trainer, but the shadows of his past still haunt him. He commits physical abuse against a child under his care, and almost expelled from the gym club for that. His only chance to redeem himself is to take care of, and train Kyle, a promising, but utterly stubborn and rebelling teenager gymnast, the country's greatest hope for the next Olympic games. The story's last quarter takes place at a world championship in Hungary, where we simultaneously learn the happenings of the past, which led to giving up the protagonist's career, and how he looses the championship, but finding some moral remedy for himself. In the closing scene we see Dongó as a member of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil.Let's start with the good one. Parts, taking place in the 80's are phenomenal. The stories of young Dongó (Orion Radies) are full of with throat-gripping scenes about childhood abuse, parents forcing their child to fulfill the parents' dream, the physical and psychical breaking of the gymnasts so they can be the best of the best. Even more appalling (and aggravating), how the parents assisted to the abuse (especially rough scene the one with the whipped boy, whose father, a state intelligence agency's member sat down and watched the whole thing, like nothing happened). These scenes are clearly from the childhood memories from the writer/director (Szabolcs Hajdu). Acting is superb, Puma, the trainer (Gheorghe Dinica), though not as frightful, as, for example, Fletcher in Whiplash, still delivers the character greatly.And now, the low parts. The story-line in the 2000's is nowhere near as well-made, as the first half of the movie. The whole situation feels overly made-up, and you cannot escape the feeling, that they just connected 2, completely independent story-lines, just to make the movie longer. Kyle's character and motivation are hardly fleshed out. Drives behind adult Dongó's actions are also poorly portrayed, and though Hajdu (the writer and director's brother) physically suits for the role, his acting is nothing to write home about. The same can be said about the Canadian gym club leader, who looks a bit fake and exaggerated. The ending is also somewhat confusing, but acceptable. The movie itself is also a bit hypocrite. Upon the commitment of physical abuse, the club leader scolds Dongó, that this is completely not OK. As if abuse (physical and psychical) was a thing of the past. However, abuse remains even today, in almost every branch of the competitive sport. Now, the main drive is not the national (or personal) pride, but the money of the sponsors, and still, the expectations of the parents.Even though, I would like to praise the movie for letting the people know about the harsh and unforgiving regime of the world of the professional sport - or at least a tiny slice of it. It helps you to realize, how many broken childhood, mentally and emotionally disfigured juvenile men and women are behind the medals of the Olympic and world championships. And it successfully convinced me to encourage my children to do sports, but keep them the hell away from the professional sport, if I want to grow mentally healthy adults out of them.

White Palms, (Fehér Tenyér) Hungary, 2006. Viewed in Budapest at the annual Magyar Film Week, (Magyar Film Szemle) February, 2006.Having suffered as a boy under a brutal Communist-era coach, champion Hungarian gymnast Miklos moves to Canada years later in search of a new start - only to find himself unwittingly perpetuating the very same cycle of abuse among his own pupils. "White Palms" helmed by Szabolc HAJDU is possibly the only feature film ever made whose central subject is the specialized athletic domain of Gymnastics. It follows the life of a talented young gymnast in the city of Debrecen who rebels against his sadistic coach in Communist Hungary, runs off to a Russian circus where he suffers a very bad injury, emigrates to Canada where he himself becomes a leading gymnastics coach, then, years later, returns to Debrecen for one last shot as a performer in international competition, whereupon, having proved his mettle once and for all against his arch Canadian rival– goes back and joins a famous Canadian circus! — (Le Cirque du Soleil). The gymnastics scenes, which take up a goodly portion of the total screen time, are especially realistic as both the director and his brother Zoltan Miklos Hajdu, who plays the hero, Dongo, at maturity, are highly trained gymnasts! Nothing like making a picture about an occupation you know something about… The title refers to the chalk gymnasts dust their palms with when approaching the high bar to get a better grip. The gyrations on the bars are breathtaking but what really gives this film its unusual punch is the parallel study of the art and mentality of the career gymnast woven into a strong critique of the Communust system that paralyzed Hungary for four decades. Fascinating film, one of a kind. The festival closer "Taxidermia" a study in the gymnastics of regurgitation made enough people in Hungary puke this year to convince the critics that it was the "Best Film of the Year" – different shucks for different folks. All things considered, however, 2006 was not a bad year at all for the steadily reviving Hungarian cinema and White Palms is one if the best of the new breed.

A really good film but one of the saddest films I've seen in a long time. Although the film was was released in 2006 I only saw it on Australian TV in August 2008. It was shown very late at night with a warning beforehand of child abuse which nearly put me off watching it. If this is not a true life story, I would guess that it must be based on one as it is so very credible. The choice of athletes and actors was good and the role of the coach who trained the young gymnasts was played menacingly well. What a horrible character and unfortunately there may be more than one of those in the real world. The parents were disgusting - I'd run away from home if they were mine. After all his misadventures, I hope that Miklós enjoyed his time with Cirque De Soleil in Las Vegas because by then, in my opinion, after all the hardships he endured he deserved to be treated as a very unique person.

The white palm is a catching movie about an athlete trying to face his talent, the environment and the faults he commits. You do not have to be a sport- lover to like this movie, it is about more: about life. The only way to face your faults is to jump for the next challenge and try it again. The main figure is a Hungarian sporter, who from his childhood trains to become an athlete. We can see the way how he formed to the personality he is: the cruel trainings from childhood, the family-background, and the whole environment, a socialistic world. The story goes in different time-zones: side by side we can follow the child Dongó and his challenges, as well as the young man Dongó in Canada, training the new generation and than trying again his luck. The beginning of the movie is a bit slow, but it gets faster and it just catches you already in the middle of the movie and does not let you relax until the end. This is also interesting, as is based on a true story, the athlete plays himself in the movie. I really liked it, so I suggest you to watch it. :)