''Children of Glory'' ( hu, Szabadság, szerelem) is a

2006 film The following is an overview of events in 2006, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths. Evaluation of the year Legendary film critic Philip French of ''The Guardian'' de ...

directed by

Krisztina Goda Krisztina Goda (born 1970) is a Hungarian screenwriter and film director. She is best known for her 2006 film Children of Glory ''Children of Glory'' ( hu, Szabadság, szerelem) is a 2006 film directed by Krisztina Goda. Children of Glory comm ...

. Children of Glory commemorates Hungary's Revolution of 1956 and the "Blood in the Water" match. Taking place in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and at the

Melbourne Olympic Games The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

in October and November of that year, the film takes viewers into the passion and sadness of one of the most dramatic popular revolts of the twentieth century. In the same year

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

tanks were violently suppressing the Revolution within Hungary, the Hungarian

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

team was winning over Russia in the Olympic pool in Melbourne, in what is sometimes described as the bloodiest water polo match in history. While telling the story of 1956 in part through fictional lead characters, the film-makers simultaneously recreated many of the key public events of the Revolution, including the huge demonstrations and the fighting in the streets of Budapest.

Plot summary

In 1956, Karcsi Szabó (Iván Fenyő) was a star athlete at the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and had been named captain of the national water polo team that would represent Hungary in the Olympics held that summer in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. However, many of Szabó's countrymen had more on their minds; Hungary had fallen under the oppressive rule of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, and a growing number of Hungarians were demanding independence. One day, Szabó and his friend Tibi ( Sándor Csányi) witness a demonstration led by Viki Falk (

Kata Dobó Kata Dobó or Kata Dobo (born Katalin Kovács, Hungarian: Kovács Katalin, Dobó Kata, on 25 February 1974) is a Hungarian actress and filmmaker. Life Dobo was born in Győr, Hungary and moved to Los Angeles, USA in 1999 to her partner of the ...

) demanding an end to Soviet rule in Hungary. While initially Szabó is more attracted to Falk's beauty than her message, through his attempts to woo her he is awakened to the need for revolution; however, an uprising by the people is crushed by the Soviet war machine, and matters become worse for the Hungarian people. When Szabó and his teammates discover that Hungary will be competing against the Soviet Union in the men's Water Polo tournament at the upcoming Olympics, they see an opportunity for a symbolic victory over their oppressors, if they will be allowed to leave to country to compete.

Cast

as Falk Viki *

Iván Fenyő Iván Fenyő (born 15 June 1979) is a Hungarian actor. He made his studies at the University of Drama, Film and Television, Budapest. Fenyő made his feature film debut as an American Marine in '' Jarhead'', directed by Sam Mendes. Although ...

as Szabó Karcsi * Sándor Csányi as Vámos Tibi *

Károly Gesztesi Károly Gesztesi (born Károly Tóth; 16 April 1963 – 4 January 2020) was a Hungarian actor. He was best known for providing the Hungarian dubbing of Shrek from the movie of the same name. Life and career He graduated from the Academy of ...

as Telki coach *

Ildikó Bánsági Ildikó Bánsági (born 19 October 1947) is a Hungarian actress, ''Kossuth Prize'' and '' Jászai Mari Award'' winner, member of the ''Halhatatlanok Társulata'', full member of the ''Magyar Művészeti Akadémia''. She has appeared in more th ...

as Karcsi's mother *

Tamás Jordán Tamás Jordán (born 15 January 1943) is a Hungarian actor. Jordán appeared in more than ninety films since 1969. Selected filmography References External links * 1943 births Living people Hungarian male film actors 20th-centur ...

as Karcsi's granddad * Viktória Szávai as Hanák Eszter *

Zsolt Huszár Zsolt () is a Hungarian masculine given name, originally a variant of ''Solt''. Related names * Zsolt: old Hungarian personal name, with an identical origin to the names ''Zoltán'', ''Zsolt'' and possibly ''Csolt''. Derived from the old Turkish w ...

as Gál Jancsi * Tamás Keresztes as Ács Imi * Péter Haumann as Feri bácsi * Dániel Gábori as Józsika (as Gábori Dániel) * Róbert Marton as Kardos Márton (Compó) * Kornél Simon as Abonyi Gyula (Báró) * Krisztián Kolovratnik as Fazekas Sándor (Frank) * Antal Czapkó as Prokop

References

External links

Official site
* * * *
The Times Review

American DVD version
2006 films 2000s sports films C2 Pictures films Films about the 1956 Summer Olympics Films produced by Andrew G. Vajna Films scored by Nick Glennie-Smith Hungarian historical drama films Hungarian Revolution of 1956 films Films with screenplays by Joe Eszterhas Water polo films Films directed by Krisztina Goda {{Hungary-film-stub