Customer Reviews

An American Rhapsody [VHS]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the writer/director, Eva Gardos' own story. It begins with the young actress Scarlett Johansson, cast as Suzanne, standing on a bridge in Budapest. The year is 1965. "I was 15 and my life was already falling apart," she says, "so I came back to Hungary where it all began." What follows is an extended flashback to 1950. A married couple, Margit and Peter, played by Natassja Kinski and Tony Goldwyn, have to escape from Hungary. They have two young daughters and can only take the older one who is five years old. They have to leave the baby behind because it would be too dangerous if the baby cried. We see their escape and feel their tension -- bribing guards, running across a field, traveling in a train dressed as peasants. We see their love for their baby and the distress when they find out that their plans for having her smuggled out to join them in Vienna are thwarted. To save the baby, the Grandmother, played by Agnes Banafalvy, makes arrangements to have the baby raised by a childless peasant couple, Teri and Jeno, played by Zsuzsa Czinkoczi and Balazs Galko. They come to love the little girl as their own and she grows up loving them as well. In the meantime, the Margit and Peter and their older daughter arrive in America. They never stop trying to get their younger daughter out by writing letters to public officials. Finally, after six years, they obtain permission to bring their little girl to America.

What follows is perhaps the strongest part of the film as the child who knows only the peasant family as her own and who doesn't speak a word of English, is suddenly taken from her idyllic childhood and thrust into a life in a small Los Angeles suburb. The young actress who plays the 6-year old Suzanne, Kelly Endresz-Banlaki is wonderful. I really felt the confusion and upset of the young child who misses her homeland and tries her best to adapt to her new life. These scenes are touching and mixed with comedy and pathos and I couldn't keep my tears from flowing. The scene suddenly shifts to nine years later. Suzanne is now a rebellious teenager in constant conflict with her mother. When she picks up a rifle and tries to shoot her way out of her locked bedroom, it is obvious she is in crisis. At her pleas, the family allow her to go back to visit Hungary.

I enjoyed the film tremendously, felt emotion for each of the characters - the parents, the grandmother, the peasants who loved her, and even the older sister with her own form of sibling rivalry. Mostly though, I felt for the little six-year-old girl who had to adapt to a whole new way of life. The characters spoke both Hungarian and English, which added an authentic feel and the cinematography clearly depicted the contrasts between Los Angeles and Hungary. Throughout, there was also the feeling of the oppressive totalitarian system, which had divided the family. The ending was happy, although a little contrived, but it seemed appropriate. I can't think of any other way it could have ended. Recommended.

AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY, directed by Éva Gárdos, is a poignant film about family, the concept of "home", and the promise America held out to the refugees fleeing Stalin's Eastern Europe in the years following World War II.

The movie begins in the late 40's as infant Suzanne is left behind in Budapest with her grandmother as her parents, Margit and Peter, flee with an older daughter to the West and the suburbs of Los Angeles. The grandmother, Helen, is soon arrested, and the baby is taken in by a childless couple, Jeno and Teri, who live in the countryside. Suzanne remains with her doting foster parents for six years, becoming as attached to them as if she was their own child. When Stalin finally dies, the grandmother is released, and soon removes Suzanne from her rural home and sends her alone to California to be reunited with the biological parents. After an initial fascination with American affluence, food and toys, Suzanne becomes deeply homesick. Her father makes a deal with her; try to accept life with the family and, when she is older, he promises to send her back to Hungary to visit the "parents" she pines for. The girl struggles at it for nine years, demonstrating increasing passive hostility towards her over-controlling mother, who wishes to protect her from the evils of the day, boys and cigarettes. (My, how times have changed!). Finally, after a confrontation between Suzanne and Margit that escalates to near violence while Peter is off on a business trip, Dad finally keeps his promise. What 15 year old Suzanne discovers back in Hungary is the crux of the story.

All of the adult actors are superb: Nastassja Kinski (Margit), Tony Goldwyn (Peter), Agi Banfalvy (Helen), Zsusza Czinkoczi (Teri), and Balazs Galko (Jeno, with the engaging handlebar moustache). Scarlett Johanssen, who previously played the traumatized Grace Maclean in Robert Redford's THE HORSE WHISPERER, is again convincing as the emotionally tortured teenaged Suzanne. Above all, Kelly Endresz Banlaki is absolutely delightful as Suzanne's 6 year old persona.

I was privileged to attend a private screening of AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY, after which Éva Gárdos answered questions from the audience. The film was based on her life and, yes, she really did do to her bedroom door what was depicted on the screen. And Kelly Banlaki was the last of several hundred children auditioned in Budapest during the Hungarian location shoot frantically completed over a few short weeks. Gárdos lovingly remembers her real-life foster parents, who died six months after her return "home". She's come to terms with her biological parents, and realizes that her life is richer for having been loved by both sets.

AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY is a must-see contribution to this year's cinematic season - a quality three-hankie event for those who tear easily. I recommend it without reservation.

I must preface this review by stating that I have a bias: Like the writer-director, Éva Gardos, whose own story is depicted by the movie, I am an immigrant from Hungary. I did not experience the Rákosi-Stalin era, just the milder version of totalitarian communist rule under Kádár, yet I am fully aware of the historical backdrop of the movie. I can vouch easily that it captures the feel of the era. A review written by Linda Linguvic (see below) accurately tells the story, and I don't wish to repeat it here.

I like movies, but I never had an experience like this. I started to watch the movie after a long day of work, late in the evening. My wife joined only about 40 minutes later and, because next day was to be an especially busy one at work, she wanted to go to sleep at a point that was little over half-way into the movie. I stopped the movie, and went to bed. It was a mistake. I couldn't fall asleep until about 2 a.m. The movie strirred me up more than I thought. I am emotionally stable, and this was a totally unusual reaction. I attribute it to the fact that the movie hits close to home, and that it is marvelously done.

This is a story that does not focus on the villains, but the pervasiveness of an evil system, and against this historic background, it tells the story of love, decency, self-sacrifice, and every-day heroism. The main focus is on those, who loved "Suzanne" ("Zsuzsi"), i.e. Éva Gardos: her biological parents, her grandmother, and her foster parents.

The American actors learned their lines in Hungarian to add authenticity to the movie. In spite of their accent, their job was exceedingly well done. The only slip up I recognized was something that Tony Goldwyn could not have known: At the railway station, when he says fairwell to his entrusted friend (who helped them escape from Hungary), he slaps the back of his friend with his palm as they hug each other. Tony Goldwyn's character is an upper class, affluent Hungarian intellectual, who would have never done the slap (in Hungary, it is considered to be utterly inappropriate and most unbecoming of a gentleman). Apart from this, both Tony Goldwyn and Nastassja Kinski beautifully captured the characters' Hungarian style and mannerism that is a recognizable subtype in western culture. The best acting, however, belongs to Zsuzsanna Czinkóczi ("Teri") and Balázs Galkó ("Jenö"), who played their parts with much depth and warmth. For example, near the end of the movie, when Jenö recognizes during Suzanne's visit that she no longer belongs to Hungary (having stronger ties to the US), he acknowledges his loss without saying a word - yet the flicker of his cigarette, expelling the ash from the tip is a perfect symbol of his resignation to Suzanne's breaking away.

Some may have the opinion that the movie is overtly sentimental, and takes advantage of every possibility to deliver an emotional blow. I respectfully disagree. Armed with my knowledge of the era, I understood so much that was unsaid in the movie. However, I also realize that without the background knowledge, one may have difficulty reading between the lines - especially related to the scenes in Hungary - and enjoy the movie to its full extent.

The cinematography and the selection of locations are remarkable. The movie was shot on a shoestring budget. This explains minor "errors": Above the arch of the Chain bridge, the traditional Hungarian national shield is visible. In 1965, when Suzanne was walking on the bridge, the "Kádár shield" (a communist symbol) was on display, and not the traditional shield with the Holy Crown. Or at the Airport, the letters at the time of the events read "Ferihegy" and not "Ferihegy 1" (the Ferihegy 2 terminal was not even in a planning stage). These are understandable errors that we should take in stride.

I watched the DVD version, and I watched it also with the commentary by the writer-director and the producer. The commentary was most of the time disappointing, and left most of my questions unanswered. However, I walked away with the feeling that Éva Gardos created a movie that required much Hungarian identity on her part. I was unable to find out, how much her parents contributed to this. (As a parent of three children born in America, I was very much interested.) According to the movie, they did not appear to care much about giving their Hungarian heritage to their daughter, and mostly spoke English (and not Hungarian) at home. I am still unsure whether it was shown like this only for the movie, or it was an accurate account. I was led to believe that the foster parents' impact was stronger in terms of building her identity whithout which this movie would never have been made. I don't know how much Éva Gardos feels herself to be Hungarian. Regardless what she may feel, her movie is a testimony to the fact that her cultural heritage is very much alive, and will continue enriching the diverse Americal cultural spectrum for many years to come.

First of all, it was so refreshing to watch a movie that didn't seem like it came straight from the same old Hollywood recycling bin. This movie was original, unique, and very well cast and directed. This film also tells the story of a piece of history and a part of the world that is often overlooked and stereotyped. In a day and age where many films are made about "ethnic minority" immigrants, it was interesting to watch a film depicting the struggles of immigrants from a country in Europe (Hungary) that went through so much turmoil and hardship. The transition of different time periods and places (half the movie is set in Hungary - the other half in Los Angeles) was also smooth and well executed. Lastly, the cast was superb. Each character fit their individual roles perfectly and it was also interesting to see a pre-"Lost in Translation" Scarlett Johanssen. I highly recommend this film!

This is a beautiful film in every prospect. This is about a girl who was seperated from her family in Hungary and after years of seperation she rejoines her family in America. Her mother has never been happier to have her daughter around neither has her father but she is as unhappy as can be she misses her home and wants to go back. When her father realizes how unhappy she is he makes her a promise that if when she is older if she still wants to go back to Hungary he will get her a ticket back there. A few years pass and lots of things happen and she begins to hate her mother for everything she has ever done. The ending is wonderful and so is the rest of the movie I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. I would recommend this to people who are 12 or older and are mature enough to understand the plot and take it seriously because this movie is based on a true story, enjoy the movie everyone!

This is a wonderful movie, with a great story and it is very well directed and acted. It's refreshing to see Nastassja Kinski, a very underrated actress, getting a meaty role as opposed to slumming in some B-movie. She is excellent here, and like Virginia Madsen in 'Sideways', she's long overdue for a Hollywood comeback.

I loved this movie, because it reflects what trully happened to the vast majority of Hungarian families. I'm one of them too, and my parents also suffered the pain and sadness of leaving some family away, and we trully relate with this movie.

i lived in hungary for four years when i was younger and this movie brought back so many memories. it was soo good. it had so many unexpected twists. i absolutely loved it. the actors were so good and believable and the plot was absolutely fabulous. it was so touching and sweet. i absolutely loved it!

It must have been extremely difficult for Eva Gardas, director of "An American Rhapsody," to tell this particular story as it is the story of her life. How do you stand apart and objectify your own life and make it universal and therefore interesting and important for an audience to view? The biggest trap I think would be to over-sentimentalize so that you turn your "life" into schmaltz. "An American Rhapsody" is the story of a circa 1950's cold war Hungarian families escape from Russian rule to the USA leaving behind a child, Suzanne(Kelly Endresz-Banlaki as a child and Scarlett Johansson of "Ghost World" as a teenager) because she is too young and would cause un-needed attention by the Russian guards. The emotional focus, though is on Suzanne's story, as after 6 years and a number of circumstances, she is reunited with her parents in America. But Suzanne is torn between 2 families: her natural parents (Nastassja Kinski and Tony Goldwyn) and that of her foster parents who loved and raised her for those 6 years in Hungary. The scenes in Hungary between Suzanne and her foster parents are the warmest of the entire film. The biggest problem with "American Rhapsody" is that it doesn't get to the meat of the story, specifically sixteen year old Suzanne's story until the last 1/3 of the movie. The other 2/3's of the film is exposition and plot development. And it is here that Gardas should have used the pruning shears in the cutting room. The film feels lopsided, over plotted and over explained. Scarlett Johnsson is so good and so real in the role of grown up Suzanne that we miss not seeing more of her story and the film suffers for it. Gardas needed a strong, objective editor. All in all though, "American Rhapsody" is truly heartfelt and we empathize and ultimately comprehend Gardas/Suzanne's plight and more importantly Gardas has stayed clear of the schmaltz.

The characters grab you immediately and make you feel their experiences. From the escaping parents striving for a new, free life, to the immigrant child and the roots she left behind, this is a story everyone can get into. It raises good points about the immigrant experience and the "American life". The time period is well represented, but the themes are applicable to any time period. From children age 10 to the adults I have recommended this too, everyone agrees: " A great movie!"