SYNOPSIS:
In Budapest, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 is beginning while the water polo team is training for the Melbourne Olympics Games. The player Karcsi Szabo meets the revolutionary student leader Viki Falk and they fall in love for each other. When the Soviet force withdraws from Budapest, Karcsi decides to rejoin the team and travel to Melbourne to participate in the Olympic Games. However, a larger Soviet force returns and invades Budapest killing thousands of Hungarians and suppressing the resistance. Meanwhile, Karcsi and his team dispute the "Blood in the Water" match against the Soviets.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Joe Eszterhas is the Hollywood
screenwriter behind Basic Instinct and Showgirls. He is also
from Hungary. So too is Hollywood powerhouse producer Andrew
G. Vajna, the man behind such movies like Rambo, Total Recall
and Terminator. Indeed, you would do well to remember that
as you watch “Children of Glory”- a movie that
combines their Hollywood sensibilities with their sense of
nationalistic pride.
Based on the true story of the Hungarian
Revolution in 1956, it takes place in between two fiercely
fought water polo matches between the Hungarians and the Russians.
In the first, a biased referee caused the Hungarians to lose
to the Russians. In the second, tension hit boiling point
in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics when the Russians were forced
to play a fair match and subsequently lost to the Hungarians.
In between the heated games, a simple protest
that began by a group of fervent university students quickly
escalated into a nationwide demonstration for freedom against
the Soviet Union. But soon after agreeing to the protesters’
demands, the Soviet Union went back on its words, returned
to Budapest with a larger military force and violently suppressed
the resistance, killing thousands of Hungarians.
Certainly, war and history would not be good
cinema without romance. So here the romantic arc revolves
around Karcsi Szabo, the star water polo player of the Hungarian
team, and Viki Falk, the revoluntionary student leader who
began the protest. Yes, if there’s one thing you can
be sure of, it’s that Children of Glory is no arthouse
cinema flick. This is a perfectly accessible piece of rousing
entertainment- thanks to Eszterhas and Vajna.
Director Krisztina Goda also does a fine
job in keeping the pace of the movie taut, so there’s
never a dull moment here. Especially worthy of mention are
the two grippingly exciting water polo matches. The sport
of water polo may not be regular cinema fare like baseball
or football, but rest assured that it is every bit as exhilarating.
Without a doubt, you’ll soon find yourself cheering
for the Hungarian underdogs.
But much as “Children of Glory”
is riveting cinema, one can’t help but shake off the
feeling that it is also plainly manipulative. This David vs.
Goliath-like tale is portrayed solely from the point of view
of the Hungarians and their perseverance to fight for their
liberty. Hence the Russians are no more than heartless tyrants
with nary a shred of goodness. While this one-note depiction
certainly rouses one’s sentiments, it also loses what
nuance this real-life story may have had.
Not
that you will mind as much though- “Children of Glory”
still makes for one of the most interesting history lessons
in recent cinema. Like I said, you’ll do well to remember
that this is from the people who brought you some of Hollywood’s
most definitive blockbusters. And “Children of Glory”
just proves that you can take the man out of Hollywood, but
you can’t take Hollywood out of the man.
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
This
Code 3 DVD contains no bonus features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
disc’s visual transfer is good enough. The audio’s
only presented in Dolby 2.0, but it still holds up well in
surround if you can activate your sound system’s function.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
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