An American Rhapsody | 
| Director: Eva Gardos
Actors: Nastassja Kinski, Scarlett Johansson, Raffaella Bansagi, Tony Goldwyn, Agnes Banfalvy
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $9.25
You Save: $10.74 (54%)
New (5) Used (14) from $9.25
Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 57519
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Hungarian (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 097363394440
EAN: 0097363394440
ASIN: B00005RYLY
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Release Date: January 22, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
 Film Rhapsody March 12, 2009
Brian Shelton (Easley,S.C. USA)
Love Scarlett Johansson and Nastassja Kinski.Great film I appreciate the directors work,but the commentary was slightly annoying.The movie was well done.You can watch this with family,friends or as a Date-movie.More for the ladies but guys will love Beautiful Scarlett and Nastassja.
Wonderful story of a girl born behind the Iron Curtian. January 7, 2009
kindred spirit (God's Country)
Susanna was left behind when her parents and sister escape from Budapest, Hungary the 1950. She is raised by a hungarian couple uintil she is 6 yrs old at which time the USA helps get her to home to her birth parents.
This is her story and it is beautiful and touching. She is a troubled and brave child. I highly recommend this excellent story which is based on true events.
Heartfelt Depiction of a Girl Torn Between 2 Families August 8, 2008
R. J. Marsella (California)
This film surprised me with it's very well presented contrast between 1950's suburban America and the life in a small village behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary.
A family escapes to a new life in America but circumstances lead to their leaving behind an infant girl who is raised by a loving couple in a small Hungarian village. As the girl grows she accepts her new family and is living a very happy life when she is whisked away to join her true family, now strangers, in the U.S.
The child actors are wonderful in this and as the girl becomes a teenager Scarlett Johansson does a good job portraying a rebellious and disaffected teen. Nastassja Kinski is reasonably good as her real mother, who becomes obsessive about protecting her after having been separated from her for so long.
The remaining cast is pretty solid , particularly the actors who portray her Hungarian adopted family.
This is a very good film on a lot of levels. The cultural clash between the 2 settings is remarkably well handled and the story is a definite tear-jerker.
humanly beautiful March 14, 2008
jla (montgomeryville pa.)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A great film dealing with love and commitement to family and achieving the american dream..but at what cost. Excellent script with great performances by natassia kinksi. A moving film that should be watched by the whole family. A touching story about immigration and what familys dealt with.
 Has the potential to be a great film, but falls far from its destination... July 13, 2007
Andrew Ellington (Mulholland Drive)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
`An American Rhapsody' follows the struggles of the Sander family as they flee from Hungary in the 1950's for America and then fight, first to bring their young daughter home and then to keep her safe. Because of the War the Sanders are fleeing their country in pursuit of a better life in the America's. Peter and Margit Sander have two young daughters, Maria and Zsuzsi, but because Zsuzsi is but an infant and a danger to the fleeing couple they must leave her behind to have her transported to them later. Peter and Margit escape with their daughter Maria, but Zsuzsi never arrives. Her grandmother couldn't bare the idea of something bad happening to her granddaughter and so she arranged for her to be raised by a foster family until it was safe for Zsuzsi to travel back to her parents.
Margit and Peter are understandably concerned, upset and desperate to have their daughter, but they aren't reunited with her for over five years. By this time Zsuzsi has become attached to her foster parents viewing that as her real family and thus shunning her mother and father. As she grows into adolescence she becomes rebellious and distant and then finally comes to the realization that she won't be able to accept her new life until she can officially say goodbye to her old life. Thus, she travels back to Budapest to reconnect with her foster parents.
The film, while not a total letdown, fails to live up the material. The performances by most of the cast are either too laidback and forgettable or so outlandish and overacted that they come across annoying. Scarlett Johansson, who plays the teenage Zsuzsi, does a decent job, but you can tell that her acting level has matured quite a bit since this film. Her character really isn't given enough meat to grow with the audience. She comes off a bit one dimensional and a little unsympathetic. You never see layers of emotion from her. You see her hating her parents and that's about all. When she finally does change it's not a gradual change as you would expect but an almost immediate change that comes off phony. You'd think that the director/writer would have paid a little more attention to detail when retelling her own story. Tony Goldwyn, who plays Peter, never really delves into his character. He becomes almost a prop for Natassja Kinski's overacting. Kinski actually does really well for the first half of the film and then, after Scarlett comes into frame Kinski's character goes a little insane and her performance gets a little over zealous.
The young girls in the film are actually the best actors here. They come across natural and sympathetic. Although I will say that to have young Zsuzsi learn English in what appears to be a week, and to know it so well, it's very unrealistic. The material is grade A, and it could have been turned into a grand epic masterpiece, but the directing was sloppy and the script could have used a revamp. It becomes B grade entertainment that, while worth a watch through, will never really validate multiple viewings. If you're a fan of Johansson's more recent award worthy work then I encourage you to see this movie, if not for the very reason of seeing her humble beginnings, but watching this and knowing that it was released the same year as `Ghost World' where she puts in a stellar performance is almost sad. With the right budget, a better director and a script revamp this could and should have been a great film, but it falls under the category of `popcorn flick', nothing more, nothing less.
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