Character Relationship Map: '68

Characters

• Peter Szabo (played by Eric Larson) — protagonist

  The older son involved in counterculture. Gets kicked out of college, buys a motorcycle, dates a Maoist, and is disowned by his father. Later runs afoul of an outlaw motorcycle club and joins his brot...

• Sandy Szabo (played by Robert Locke) — protagonist

  The younger son who is gay and struggles with coming out. Gets disowned by his father after revealing his sexuality. Gets drafted but rejected due to his homosexuality.

• Zoltan Szabo (played by Sándor Técsy) — supporting

  The father who escaped the Soviet Invasion of Budapest. Runs a financially struggling Hungarian restaurant and disowns both sons when they diverge from his expectations.

• Zsuzsa Szabo (played by Anna Dukasz) — supporting

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Zoltan Szabo → Sandy Szabo (Family Father) — Hungarian immigrant father who disowns his gay son
• Zoltan Szabo → Peter Szabo (Family Father) — Hungarian immigrant father who escaped Soviet invasion
• Zoltan Szabo → Zsuzsa Szabo (Family Husband) — Married couple running a struggling Hungarian restaurant

Story Analysis

A divided family moves through political upheaval, personal rejection, and eventual brotherly solidarity.

Plot Progression

1. A Refugee Family Under Pressure — The father’s escape from Budapest and his struggling Hungarian restaurant establish the family’s economic and generational pressures. The two sons begin moving in different directions.
2. Counterculture and Confrontation — The older son is expelled from college, buys a motorcycle, dates a Maoist, and encounters an outlaw motorcycle club. Meanwhile, the younger son remains troubled by his sexuality.
3. Rejection Inside the Family — The younger son comes out and is disowned by his father. The older son is also disowned, leaving both brothers isolated from their family.
4. Identity Against Institutions — The younger son is drafted but rejected because of his homosexuality. National political violence, shown through stock footage, intensifies the surrounding sense of instability.
5. Brothers Stand Together — The older son joins the younger son at a gay rights protest. Their shared public action offers solidarity after the family’s rejection.