Get us in your inbox

Children of Glory

  • Film
  • 2 out of 5 stars
migrate.41210.jpg
Advertising

Time Out says

2 out of 5 stars
The water polo final at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics remains one of the most acrimonious encounters in sporting history, since the Hungarian team took on the Soviet Union as the Red Army was crushing the political uprising in Budapest.

Sounds like there’s a movie in there somewhere, but unfortunately it’s this stodgy offering, marking a return to his Magyar roots for ‘Basic Instinct’ scribe Joe Eszterhas. Indeed, there’s more than a touch of Hollywood, as stock characters (the self-interested water polo star swept up in revolutionary fervour, the sexy female partisan he falls for, the creepy, avuncular police interrogator) forge a familiar path through oppression and self-sacrifice.

The Budapest locations are authentic, but everything else feels generic, the cast adequate, and director Krisztina Goda struggles to wring much excitement from the big games. The inherent interest-factor in the material keeps us watching, but you can’t help feeling a half-decent doc would have done more justice to this true story of stirring heroism on the streets and in the Olympic pool.
Written by Trevor Johnston

Release Details

  • Rated:15
  • Release date:Friday 14 March 2008
  • Duration:120 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Krisztina Goda
  • Screenwriter:Joe Eszterhas
  • Cast:
    • Ivan Fenyo
    • Sándor Csányi
    • Kata Dobó
Advertising
You may also like
You may also like

The best things in life are free.

Get our free newsletter – it’s great.

Loading animation
Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!