Katapult Film/Filmpartners

The title "White Palms" refers to the chalked hands of gymnasts -- but as this striking, deeply felt drama illustrates, sometimes those hands are blistered and bloody. Beyond its look at the hard work of extraordinary athleticism, the film is a fascinating portrait of Communist-era Hungary. Writer-director Szabolcs Hajdu based the story on his own experiences and, more so, those of his brother, Miklos Zoltan Hajdu, who makes an impressive feature debut. AFI Fest hosted the U.S. premiere of the film, Hungary's submission for the foreign-language Oscar.

In an unpromising opening sequence that overdoes the shaky handheld camera, introspective Dongo (Cirque du Soleil member Zoltan Miklos Hajdu) arrives in Calgary to coach Olympic hopefuls. The film then moves back 21 years to 1980 Debrecen, Hungary, where the 10-year-old Dongo withstands a merciless schedule of gymnastics practice. When his parents see a welt on his leg, courtesy of the sadistic coach (Gheorghe Dinica) who brandishes a fencing foil, they insist that he must have deserved it. Their response to such rough handling is a stark contrast to the clamor that erupts among Canadian parents after the adult Dongo slaps a boy who's practicing a dangerous routine. Rather than fire him, the head coach puts him in charge of the gifted but recalcitrant Kyle (Olympic medalist Kyle Shewfelt).

The film makes its points through intimate detail rather than sweeping statements. In the way Dongo's folks latch onto his talent, forcing him to perform for company like a trained seal, we see a troubling reflection of a culture of diminished expectations. But most of the film's strongest sequences are wordless, director of photography Andras Nagy capturing the precision and beauty of gymnastic performance as well as the protagonist's intensity. Orion Radies and Silas Radies, the brothers who play Dongo at 10 and 13, respectively, are strong presences, conveying the character's intelligence and inner resources.

"White Palms" climaxes in a thrilling, masterfully edited sequence that intercuts the 2003 World Championship, in which both Dongo and Kyle compete, and the teenage Dongo's suspenseful debut as a trapeze artist, the boy having literally run away to join the circus. Like this eloquent film as a whole, the scene is at once contemplative and physically charged.