Fehér tenyér

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.

The traditions in East and West for training gymnasts have been long known but perhaps never more starkly portrayed than in White Palms.

Based on autobiographical elements involving his brother (and the film's star), Hungarian director, Szabolcs Hajdu, brings us a tale of a gold medal standard gymnast, initially training at age ten under a regime of brutal corporal punishment, then later adapting with difficulty to very different attitudes in Calgary, Canada.

As a boy, Dongo (played by athlete Zoltán Miklós Hajdu), receives little mercy in the hands of his trainer. The boys are asked to line up, but Dongo's feet are a fraction over the drill line, and he is punished with a blow from the side of a sword which leaves a blood-stained bruise on his thigh. When questioned, he tells his parents that he has thrown a knife at the girls, as they think he is lying when he claims his punishment was only for a minor incident. Parenting seems authoritarian and distant, although they don't hesitate to show his athletic skills off to relatives, and Dongo is forced to 'perform.' A background song later intones, "Summer has flown, far has it gone, over, all over, and I still question why." For Dongo and his classmates, it must seem that the joys of summer have eternally left their lives; and when he arrives late one day for practice, fearing the chastisements that will surely follow, he runs away.

In the Canadian scenes, shortcomings of the Western system are equally challenging. With little in the way of sanctions for unruly students, teachers are stretched to cope with rudeness and laziness. Through a friendship with a younger athlete, Dongo not only learns to look at the world through new eyes, but finds a part of himself that has long been abandoned.

White Palms is carefully edited to juxtapose more than one edge-of-the-seat moment. Tension is skilfully built into a story that is part documentary, part drama, and casting real gymnasts adds to the feeling of authenticity. Stark contrasts in the use of colour emphasise isolation - cold bluish tones for the scenes in Hungary are punctuated only with the bright red of the girls' outfits (in a sectioned-off area of the gym). Before going to Canada, Dongo's only venture into the latter world of brightness is when he is humiliatingly punished, providing a spectacle for the girls. The soundtrack has some haunting songs, although I felt the opening music was off-key - possibly intentionally - which I found a bit off-putting.

White Palms brings some emotion-laden content to a fairly dry subject, as well as providing useful contrasts between the former Soviet bloc and the modern Western way of thinking. It might not make the mainstream market, but is a very watchable contribution from Eastern European cinema.

This is an absolute gem, an unique document about the sport training for contests in Eastern countries, formerly bloodlineed with communism. It is tough, rough, gritty, hard to watch, sometimes, not destined to sissies but so realistic. I love movies speaking of sport, high scale, level sport, the things about which no one never talks about. It is poignant, nasty, gripping, disturbing, far, far from Hollywood fairy tales craps. BLACK SWAN in gymnastics if you prefer. It is an awesome film, believe me, I guess there were not so many of this kind, of this quality. Do not miss it, at any cost. A pure jewel.

I was very impressed by this movie. The story itself as well as the atmosphere, pictures, music... As a former sportsman I recognize the gym environment with all that old equipment from 80's and the modern one in Canada as very real and realistic. After the film I read that two main actors were athletes. Knowing this before, I would expect their acting performance week, but they were great, even the small boys. I was impressed, because the theme is my personal, but from the movie-making-point of view I admired especially the cut and lights in the circus/competition scene. Thanks to the sportsmen in leading roles, I did not have to watch usual cutting when the actor starts to run - cut - stunt makes a trick, so all the scenes from the gym looked very natural. For me very balanced work in all possible aspects.

However I am afraid that the movie can better address sport or gymnastics people. I spoke with normal spectators after the film, and those stayed untouched.

As a Hungarian, I HATE Hungarian movies. They usually are weak in direction, plot line, acting performance. Generally speaking: cheap craps.

So that was an accident, when I clicks the remote controller and suddenly saw an outstanding performance in TV. I couldn't able to switch channel. That was so surprising, so I had to register to IMDb to tell this to you.

If you ever been in sport, or you like the emotional slow rolling movies, this movie a must see one.

(sorry for my weak English)