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Poster for White Palms

White Palms

2006 · 1h 37m · N/A Drama
Directed by Szabolcs Hajdu

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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

All reviews
89%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Far from the uplifting sports pictures churned out by Disney, White Palms wallows instead in humiliation rituals, psychic scars and too much time-shifting.

Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York
Fresh

The term 'sports film' doesn't do justice to White Palms, a punishing, beautiful drama about a troubled 30-something Hungarian gymnast.

Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times
Fresh

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.

Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
Fresh

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.

Eddie Cockrell, Variety
Fresh

Striking, deeply felt drama.

Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter

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