Rating: 
Summary: Refined, delicate, emotionally powerful and genuine
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: A fine addition to the film canon.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The ending had me in tears because it was sweet & true. Although I was born in the U.S., both my parents are from Hungary. My father had to escape during the Communist era, although at a later period than depicted in this film (1950s there), and my mother still talks as if she experienced situations that I will never understand and can't imagine (having gone through WWII and the Hungarian Revolution). The mother in this film goes through something horrific that her daughter only discovers in her teens. This film brought out so well the teenage girl caught between two cultures - Hungarian (she spends her first five years in Hungary) and American (she grows up in the US). She eventually realizes that she doesn't quite fit into either, at least not yet, and she will have to accept this fact and work with it. That is truth right there. The film also brought out her mother's predicament - trying to raise a daughter with old-fashioned Hungarian values in decadant American society. I don't remember another film that explored issues like this (issues that are true, I'm sure, for other immigrant families, not just Hungarian ones). I wasn't aware of this film when it was first released, but I'm so happy it was made available on video. I recommend it highly for anyone interested in Hungary, history, immigrants, 1950s America, the mother/daughter relationship, or first generation Americans. Thank goodness some of what we (first generation Americans) go through finally made it to film. Bravo to all involved.
Rating: 
Summary: Seen it all before
Review: I've watched many movies like this. Not enough personal details. Good material, but it was underdeveloped. And now nobody else can make it better, because it's already been done. I watched this with my friend's daughter, and she fell asleep before it was over.
Rating:
Summary: For Fans With a Heart
Review: If you liked movies like "Punch Drunk Love" (and maybe "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), you may dislike a film like "An American Rhapsody." But for all of you "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" fans--this one is for you! My wife and I loved this movie--it is so full of warmth and love in its telling of how a family overcomes adversity and adjusts to life in LA in the early sixties. It's also a great travelogue of Central Europe. My favorite movie in 2002 is "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," but my favorite movie in 2001 was "An American Rhapsody." Scarlett Johanssen is terrific, as is the entire cast! Again, if you have a heart, this film is for you.
Rating:
Summary: For Fans With a Heart
Review: If you liked movies like "Punch Drunk Love" (and maybe "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), you may dislike a film like "An American Rhapsody." But for all of you "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" fans--this one is for you! My wife and I loved this movie--it is so full of warmth and love in its telling of how a family overcomes adversity and adjusts to life in LA in the early sixties. It's also a great travelogue of Central Europe. My favorite movie in 2002 is "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," but my favorite movie in 2001 was "An American Rhapsody." Scarlett Johanssen is terrific, as is the entire cast! Again, if you have a heart, this film is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Hungarian Rhapsody
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Hungarian Rhapsody
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent movie!
Review: Many Hungarians crossed the border and came to the US to escape the Soviet system. This movie tells the story of a girl who was raised in a loving Hungarian home, to be later re-united with her now-American parents. It's emotional, and a wonderful movie overall. This is one of the few movies I'll actually remember for a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: one of the worst movies i've seen
Review: Remember those late-night Latin American soap operas you couldn't stop watching for the sheer pleasure of witnessing the worst TV can offer? Well, that's the big-screen version of the same genre. Don't get me wrong - the story has a wonderful potential, and as someone who fled Eastern Europe myself, I ought to know. The movie, however, was insulting - to myself, to the people with whom I shared the perverse pleasure of enduring it, and it should be an insult to the company that produced it (Columbia, I think). Basically, it was the most oversimplified, overexplained, and banal piece of cinematic mediocrity I had seen in a long, long time. The narrative was full of cheap cliches and overused techniques that would make any 18-year-old film major second-guess his or her career choice. The dialogue was practically non-existent and the supposedly "emotional" moments were conveyed through cheap techniques such as slow-motion flashbacks, black'n'white scenes (Hungary=B&W, America=color. Duh!), and sappy music. The characters were not developed at all, and it was hard to decide whether this was due to the poor writing of the script or to the inexistent acting talent of everyone involved. Despite the story's great potential, the script appeared to be written by a middle-school student, which wouldn't have been so bad had it exhibited the kind of innocence and naivete shared by the 9-year old Hungarian girl (who was by far the best actress of the lot, probably because she didn't know what was going on. Lucky her!). Alas, immaturity cannot be confused with innocence here. I couldn't stand how everyone started talking English as soon as they got to America, as if they always knew it, and how the old sister spoke it as if she'd been brought up in the suburbs of LA, not in Budapest. Hungary, by contrast, was nothing but a Disney-esque version of what a communist country ought to have looked like in the mid 50-ies and had it not been for the stupid folk music and the B&W film I would have sworn I'd seen the set somewhere else. Unless you are desperate to see the worst American film industry can offer, don't watch this movie! If you're looking for a well-written and well-acted story that is thematically similar to this one, get East-West. It will blow you away.
Rating:
Summary: FINDING YOURSELF
Review: Teenagers have a difficult time in coping with their sense of identity and relationship with their family. This problem is increased two-fold for sixteen year old Suzanne. Left in Hungary as an infant while her parents and older sister escaped to America, Suzanne is attempting to come to terms with who she is and what she has in common with this family of strangers. Based on a true story, American Rhapsody explores the consequences of well meaning actions that alienate a child from its parents. Magrit and Peter are well meaning parents who leave Suzanne behind in order to escape from the harsh Stalinist regime. Taking an infant with them would cause more problems. So they plan their escape and make sure that Suzanne will follow. Alas, the best laid plans fall apart and it won't be until six years later that their child is reunited with them. Magrit finds that leaving that infant behind has resulted in far more deeper problems than anticipated. In this movie we see the guilt and sorrow of parents who have to leave their child. The resentment and dynamics of leaving one family to another is readily played out is this drama. You can understand Suzanne's pain and anger. You will sympathize with the mother burdened by guilt and is determined to protect this child. This is a remarkable story with great actors portraying those real life people who had to endure such agony. The story is not a "downer" but lends hope to a family's quest for freedom and a better life for their children. It also shows the mistakes that parents make in attempting to protect their children from the reality of growing up.
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