Children of Glory (2006) Review

The story told in the Hungarian film Children of Glory seems timely. With a politically fraught Olympics just around the corner in Sochi, Russia and clashes and protests ongoing in places like Egypt and Ukraine the parallels are striking. Released in 2006, Children of Glory tells the story of the 1956 anti-communist Hungarian uprising from the perspective of their champion caliber water polo team, who are just on the cusp of heading to the Olympics.

The story belongs to the star of the team, Karcsi, a famous and fiery alpha male who is at first more concerned with glory and girls than anything political. That all begins to change when he meets Vikki, an equally self possessed and strong willed political activist at the University in Budapest.

Karsci and Vikki get swept up together in the events of the uprising as the university students consolidate into a revolutionary force and Soviet and national troops attempt to subdue their rebellion. There is prolonged combat in the streets and at the center is Karcsi and his divided loyalties. On one hand his team is headed to Olympics and his involvement with the revolutionaries jeopardizes their chances. On the other hand is Vikki, his feelings for her have deepened as their involvement in the cause has become cemented through both losses and victories.

Children of Glory is a hybrid sports movie/war movie/romance and delivers ably on all counts. It is also a vivid historic account of a time when citizen agitators stood up to a military behemoth to demand the right of self-government. The star performance of the film comes from the fierce Kata Dobo as Vikki, with her unique and striking features and piercing commanding gaze she is the immediate equal of the cocksure Karcsi, played with a humane laconic ease by Ivan Fenyo.

If the beats of this story are slightly predictable, fitting its categories requirements of divided loyalties, last minute deliverance and reversal, and the big game finale, it remains true to the spirit of events in as much as there are no easy answers. And in its moments, particularly when a gathering of thousands sings the national anthem in a large square lit by makeshift torches because the electricity has been shut off, it is memorable beautiful.