Far from the uplifting sports pictures churned out by Disney, White Palms wallows instead in humiliation rituals, psychic scars and too much time-shifting.
Overview
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.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
The term 'sports film' doesn't do justice to White Palms, a punishing, beautiful drama about a troubled 30-something Hungarian gymnast.
The more riveting, grim storyline ... is seen in flashback to the early 1980s, as tween Miklos lives like his parents' show pony in an anxiety nightmare of nonstop humiliation, heightened here through haunting soundscapes.
An uncommonly resonant sports drama in which a talented yet troubled gymnast comes to terms with a turbulent past, White Palms proves a distinctive and absorbing third feature by Szabolcs Hajdu.
Striking, deeply felt drama.
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