An American Rhapsody (2001)

Director:

Éva Gárdos

Writer:

Éva Gárdos (written by)

Release Date:

16 November 2001 (Greece)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

One family struggles for survival, for justice, for freedom.

Plot:

A young Hungarian girl struggles to find her place in the world when she's reunited with her parents in the USA years after she was left behind during their plight from the communist country in the 1950s.

Plot Keywords:

USA | 1950s | Budapest Hungary | Growing Up | Budapest

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Scarlett Johansson	...	Suzanne - at 15
Nastassja Kinski	...	Margit
Raffaella Bánsági	...	Suzanne - Infant
Tony Goldwyn	...	Peter
Ágnes Bánfalvy	...	Helen (as Ági Bánfalvy)
Zoltán Seress	...	George
Klaudia Szabó	...	Maria - at 4
Zsolt Zágoni	...	Russian Soldier
András Szöke	...	Istvan
Erzsi Pásztor	...	Ilus
Carlos Laszlo Weiner	...	Boy on Train
Bori Kereszturi	...	Suzanne - at 3 (as Boru Keresztúri)
Péter Kálloy Molnár	...	AVO Officer (as Péter Kállóy Molnár)
Zsuzsa Czinkóczi	...	Teri
Balázs Galkó	...	Jeno

Also Known As:

Amerikai rapszódia (Hungary)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violent content and thematic material.

Runtime:

106 min | Argentina:122 min

Country:

USA | Hungary

Language:

English | Hungarian

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Australia:PG | France:U | Iceland:L | Italy:T | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38019) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Fireworks Pictures

Trivia:

American Rhapsody was the 1998 grand prize winner of the Hartley-Merrill International Screenwriting Competition.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the airport in Budapest the sign on the building says "Budapest Ferihegy 1". In the 60s there was only one airport terminal in Budapest therefore it was not numbered.

Soundtrack:

Tweedle Dee

Desperately poignant

A true story: While her parents and older sister flee Hungary a young girl is unfortunately left behind with her grand-mother who then ends up in prison. The young girl is adopted by a childless couple who adoringly bring her up until she is 5 or 6, at which point her grandmother takes her back to her real parents in the USA. The young child is very brave, but also confused, and never forgets her adopted parents. This story leaves you feeling desperate for all those involved. The scenes of the girl in her early years with her adopted parents are very powerful and poignant. They are so genuine and sincere in their love for the child and they hope she will never have to leave them, but deep down they know that some day it will happen, and it happens when they are least expecting it. I can't imagine the pain those two people went through, as well as the child, and yet there is more to come. I spent the whole film fighting back the tears, I was completely absorbed by the depth of feeling. Some have said this film was flawed in some aspects but I'm no film critic and I have to say that I was so involved with the story and first class acting that if it was flawed I didn't notice. It is slow-paced but justly so. I was happy with the ending and felt it resolved nicely.

A note about the acting which was superb throughout. I'm a big fan of Tony Goldwyn who is perfect in these roles. The young Suzanne was delightful and incredibly genuine as were the adopted parents that were so authentic. The teenage Suzanne was also very naturally interpreted and believable. All in all, a fine film.