White Palms – Feher Tenyer (2006)

Directed by: Szabolcs Hajdu | 97 minutes | drama, sports | Actors: Zoltán Miklós Hajdu, Kyle Shewfelt, Gheorghe Dinica, Andor Lukáts, Oana Pellea, Orion Radies, Dávid Horváth, Dávid Vecsernyés, Péter Déri, ​​Krisztián Oltyán, Illés Vér, Csaba Mészéérence, Baapp Tibor Dérice Ladóczky, Zsolt Lengyel, Bence Tálas, Gergely Fanó, Dávid Göbölös, Gergely Romhányi, Silas Wind Radies, Zsolt Virág, Róbert Heitzmann, Gyula Tamás Pénzes, Gábor Kentner, Csaba Nyers, Gyula Benedek, Valter Cál Janálik Brousnikin, Artyom Brousnikin, Alexander Brousnikin Jr., Tibor Mészáros, Alexandru Repan, Ferenc Darvas, Andrea Molnár, Tünde Bacskó, Imre Gelányi, Vera Sipos, Zsuzsa Csisztu, Péter Galambos, József Vásári, Gábor Osváth

Zoltan Miklos Hajdu grew up in communist Hungary. He was very good at gymnastics and of course that talent had to be exploited. His parents sent him to a renowned but tyrannical trainer who had to mold him into a great champion. Zoltan and the other boys, however, were pushed to their limits and their coach hit them when things didn’t go the way he wanted them to. Hajdus’ story is exemplary for the image we have in the west of sports experience under the communist flag. His brother Szabolcs saw in Zoltan’s story inspiration for his third feature film. ‘White Palms’ – or in Hungarian ‘Fehér tenyér’ – from 2006 is largely autobiographical. We follow Zoltan, who in the movie is called Miklos Dongó, when he arrives in Canada, where he has a job as a gymnastics coach. However, his own childhood continues to haunt him. Hajdu looks back on his brother’s eventful life in this extraordinarily profound and visually rich sports drama.

Hungary, early 1980s. The young Miklos is a very talented gymnast. However, his enjoyment of the sport is taken from him by the domination of trainer Ferenc Szabó (Gheorghe Dinica), whose nickname ‘Puma’ speaks volumes. Whoever does not do what is required of him will be whipped or a hard blow with a saber. When his parents see his injuries, Miklos lies about the cause. He knows how proud they are of him and he doesn’t want to disappoint them. One day he can take it no longer. He runs away from home. Director Hajdu then switches to 2001, where the past still haunts Miklos. When he slaps one of his students during a class with young Canadian gymnastics talents, he is kicked out of his position. Because he expresses regret and the gym club wants to keep his expertise, he can in the future deal with the rebellious but extremely talented 19-year-old Kyle (Olympic champion Kyle Shewfelt). Initially, the contact between the two is very difficult, but when Miklos challenges the boy on the devices, the men slowly grow closer to each other.

The film’s sequel consists of very skilfully edited flashbacks – in which we see how young Miklos goes to work in a circus, where he has to replace the regular trapeze artist – and flash forwards, in which Kyle and Miklos compete against each other in 2002. the World Gymnastics Championships in the Hungarian city of Debrecen. The gymnastic movements during these different events are beautifully intertwined by a lightning-fast editing of image and sound. The visual violence of ‘White Palms’ is unprecedented, especially for a sports film. One of the many highlights is the almost dialogueless scenes in the Hungarian gym, in which ‘Puma’ brutally treats his students. Gheorghe Dinica’s drill instructor is very reminiscent of R. Lee Ermey’s equally dictatorial overlord in ‘Full Metal Jacket’ (1987): he is a rock-hard, aggressive and terrifying man. But the dizzyingly mounted crossover between the jump to death on the trapeze of the young Miklos and his last great trick as a gymnast during the World Cup is also impressive.

Of course, the way in which Szabolcs Hajdu tells his story carries the necessary risks. By emphasizing the images and eliminating the dialogue as much as possible from the film, the narrative conviction of ‘White Palms’ is jeopardized here and there. Fortunately, the film in Zoltan Miklos Hajdu has a powerful protagonist who hypnotizes you from the first moment with his impressive yet sympathetic appearance. Another risk that director Hajdu – who also wrote the script – takes is that his film may come across as pompous and pretentious to some people, precisely because of its unconventional approach. ‘White Palms’ indeed tends to go a bit overboard here and there. This is therefore not a film for a mainstream audience who expects to be presented with an easy-to-digest sports film. The personal development of Miklos, his way to adulthood and the processing of the past; those are the heavy themes that are central. Hajdu has wrapped them up in beautifully filmed scenes in a production that is high quality in every way.

Not only gymnastics enthusiasts can indulge themselves at ‘White Palms’. Even those who like a more artistic, sensitive approach to the sport will love this impressive film. The already beautiful gymnastic movements of athletes are sublimely captured on the sensitive plate in this film, supported by an excellent soundtrack by Ferenc Darvas. It must be said, Szabolc’s Hajdu teeters on the edge of pretentious display. But fortunately he manages to keep his balance, thanks to his debut brother who carries the film in an excellent way.