Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

ecmelton-186-105049 Even if a person generally dislikes foreign movies, they could still enjoy Children of Glory because if feels very much like an American film, and it leans very heavily on familiar archetypes to tell the story. For example, the protagonist is a very typical movie hero who is initially reluctant to join the rebellion but ends up being thrust into the conflict and then heroically supports the cause because he realizes that it is a noble effort. He has an annoying little brother that idolizes him and wants to be more grown up until emulating his brother gets him into trouble, and he realizes that he just wants to be a kid. He has overbearing mother and relates more to his grandfather who seems to have the sensibilities of a much younger man, in that he supports the youth-led rebellion. Karcsi and best friends have a falling out, but reconcile by the end of the movie, and the film's love interest initially dislikes Karcsi but they develop a romance over an unrealistically short period of time. These are all elements straight out of a Hollywood movie. An average person could watch this film without subtitles or any prior knowledge of the Hungarian Revolution and still easily follow the story because they've seen it so many times before in other popular revolutionary movies like V for Vendetta or Braveheart.These familiar elements could also work to the films detriment. If a person was expecting a more subtle and stereotypically "artsy" European film, they might think this movie is too cliché, and that may be a fair criticism. Nothing in the movie is really surprising. Everything plays out exactly as you would expect, but that doesn't detract from the emotional core of the movie. Although the movie's themes of oppression and freedom are treated the way they are in most films, they still feel very effective and emotionally stirring. The characters are portrayed well enough that the viewer wants them to succeed and is invested in their story. Even if some of the things happening around them are a little cliché, you still want to follow them on their journey and see where it takes them. The film is set in 1956, but this is not the fruitful post WWII, baby boomer 1950s that America was experiencing. Hungary looks much more impoverished under Soviet rule. It seems more like the 1930s or 1940s where there was an economic depression or strict rationing. It's clear that even before it became a war zone, Hungary was not doing very well during this time. The film itself opens with a water polo tournament that establishes the Russians as Karcsi's rivals and sets up the tension between the Soviet Union and the countries that it controlled. The Hungarians do not like the Russians, and the Russians seem to view the Hungarian team with disdain. In the locker room the tension explodes into a fist fight the same way the tension would explode into a full blown revolution later in the movie. This is reminiscent of a lot of athletic movies that use the featured sport as a microcosm for society so social issues can be explored on a smaller scale. Remember the Titans used football the explore segregation and racial integration, and Children of Glory uses Olympic water polo to explore rebellion and Soviet oppression is Central Europe.Aside from Karcsi the other main character and protagonist was Viki, a leader in the student protests that would turn into the Hungarian revolution. She is the reason Karcsi becomes involved in the revolution, as he is romantically pursuing her when the protests turn violent, and he gets caught up in the action. She's a more competent member of revolution than Karcsi, and her authority seems to carry a lot of weight in the rebellion. She is often shown being in charge of large groups of people, whereas Karcsi doesn't know what he's doing a lot of the time and begins the movie willfully ignorant about the protests and learns about what's going on along with the audience. While Karcsi is depicted as the primary protagonist, Viki is clearly the "hero" of the film. She often is often the only person willing to stand by her convictions and not give up on her cause, motivating the other rebels in the process. The violence in the move is graphic in a very effective way. Gunfire is significantly louder than the rest of the audio, and when people get shot with higher caliper guns, parts of their bodies explode where the bullets hit them, sometimes exposing the bone underneath. This is especially graphic because the first shot hits a defenseless older woman. The Soviets have the Hungarians significantly out-gunned, so the battles result in a lot of Hungarians being killed, including bystanders and people not directly involved in the revolution. This heightens the threat of the Soviets as not only oppressors, but also murders. While there are relatively few battle scenes in the movie, when they do occur, it feels like there's a lot at stake. The threat of violence is never treated lightly and has dire consequences for the characters and for Hungary. Children of Glory is an extremely accessible film about the ideas of freedom, oppression, and patriotism. It sheds light on a historic event most Americans don't know about, and most importantly it tells a compelling story.

pandvmann The film ends at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne but it would have been better if it went on to name the Hungarian Water Polo team (including the coach) and disclose how some of the players could not return to Hungary as they were classed as Freedom Fighters.After the Olympics two of the players came to Western Australia and both captain coached individual water polo sides Anton Bolvari coached Melville and Imrie Tacosh coached Fremantle.It should be noted that these two people improved the standard of Australian Water Polo and should be named as honorable members in the Australian Sports Hall of Fame for the development work they did.I would like to know where both Anton and Imrie are today and if they have since returned to their home land of Hungary.Perhaps somebody out there knows the full story and would be kind enough to let me know.

mhettmann Unfortunately I can't see any unbiased reviews on the film as everyone making a comment has something to do with Hungary, and it's not different in my case either as I was brought up in Budapest, although a bit later, in the '90s.It is an interesting part of European history, and the film is doing a good job representing it. The story line, however, is very weak. It simply has too many elements trying too hard to make the film popular (sport references, romantic touch, etc). Basically, '56 did not happen in Hollywood. Acting is great, except the main female character played by Dobo. This might have been a bit too difficult task for her.I would probably not like this film at all if I had no connection with Hungary.

szblajos This movie gives realistic snapshots, what happened on streets of Budapest in 1956. What people fought for, what people died for. It grabs human destiny by a love story of a young sportsman and a student girl who met first at the start of the revolution. This love story makes the spine of this film, with touching the heart of viewers, in many parts of it.Maybe I have a soft spot for this movie, because it scened in my mother country. Maybe I could feel more the spirit of heroes who died in streets for their freedom, in that time. I don't know...But a very strange thing happened after the film ended. Everyone left the cinema room in a complete silence. This has never happened in this cinema yet. Maybe I was not the only person in the room, who's been touched...