With the fall season starting and Oscar-buzz looming, there is no younger actress that is getting more buzz than Scarlett Johansson. Already approaching the age of 19 in November, Johansson has already accomplished more as an actress than many of her peers as her roles for upcoming films like Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” and Peter Webber’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, as the subject of one of Johannes Vermeer’s most famous paintings, is earning her widespread buzz and acclaim from critics and peers. Since she broke through at age 11 in the 1996 indie film “Manny & Lo” and won recognition for 1998’s “The Horse Whisperer” and 2001’s “Ghost World”, Johansson has already becoming an actress with great promise. In 2001 just as she was making waves with her performances in “Ghost World” and the Coen Brothers’ “The Man Who Wasn’t There”, she played lead in one of her most compelling roles to date in the coming-of-age drama “An American Rhapsody”.

Based on the true story of screenwriter and director Eva Gardos, “An American Rhapsody” is about a rich family escaping from their home of Hungary during the post-World War II era of the Soviet Union as they take over. The family leave behind their baby daughter Suzanne, who for five years is in the care of a Hungarian family while her real parents live in America and use all their power to get her back. Once Suzanne learns the truth, she reunites with her parents in America but becomes confused by the iconic world of the U.S. and by the time she is 15, she rebels and goes back to Hungary to find her self. While some elements of the film isn’t original, the fresher elements including the family tension is amazing from Gardos’ script and direction as she takes the audience back to the 1950s and 60s America to its innocent colorful tone and the bleak, oppression of communist Hungary. Though it’s not a great film, “An American Rhapsody” is a heartfelt, compelling drama from Gardos.

The film begins with black-and-white cinematography from Elemer Ragalyi as the film starts in 1950s Hungary where the Russians have took over with their communist idealism and people are trapped. One rich Hungarian family, the Sandors led by Peter (Tony Goldwyn), wife Margit (Nastassja Kinski), and four-year-old daughter Maria (Klaudia Szabo) as they try to flee Hungary through its treacherous borders of landmines and barb wire. The only other thing they needed for Margit’s mother Helen (Agnes Balfalvy) and family friend George (Zaltan Seress) to do is help put their baby daughter Suzanne to be in the care of an agent, so Suzanne can cross the border and reunite with the family in Austria. While the Sandors meet an agent and cross through the treacherous borders, Helen changes her mind after the agent decided to drug the baby to sleep and she refused to have her granddaughter to be drugged. Helen leaves the girl to George where he would place them in a care of a loving family while Helen is arrested and put to jail.

The film then goes to color where the Sandors arrive in Austria where Peter gets a job in the U.S. as an airline mechanic with visas but Margit is upset when she learned that Suzanne is stuck in Hungary and her mother has been arrested. Peter is horrified but felt the family has to move on and go to the U.S. but will find a way to get Suzanne back. While the Sandors adjust to life in America where for a few years work in blue-collar jobs and earning enough to live in a nice suburb, their little daughter Suzanne seems to enjoy the quiet, farm life in outskirts of Hungary with farmer Jeno (Balazs Galko) and Teri (Zsuzsa Czinkoczi) where they treat her like their own daughter while Teri is struggling with the fact that she didn’t want to return to her real parents. Margit meanwhile writes countless letters to all American services including the Red Cross to politicians for five long years. Finally after years of writing, Helen is free from prison as she and George decide to take Suzanne (the five-year old played by Kelly Endresz-Banlaki) to America. Jeno & Teri knew the day was coming as Suzanne thought she was going on vacation but her grandmother insists that she’s going to the U.S. to be with her real parents.

Suzanne finally arrives to the U.S. in California where her mother is overcome with joy in seeing her little girl again in front of the press. Suzanne is amazed by the colorful tone of American suburbia while her 10-year old sister Maria (Mae Whitman) introduces her to American pop culture including bubblegum and Elvis Presley. Suzanne however, finds herself confused by the new world she is living in while she only speaks a little bit of English and Maria makes her say bad things to the neighbors (that includes film co-producer Colleen Camp). Suzanne thinks she will return to Hungary but Maria tells her that she is going to stay in the good ol’ USA. Suzanne runs away from her home where her father finds her and tells her that he misses Hungary too but he had to leave because of all the bad things that happened to him and her mother. He makes a vow to Suzanne that when she is older and is unhappy in the U.S., he’ll give her a ticket back to Hungary.

The film then fast-forwards to 1965 where we see the teenage Suzanne (Scarlett Johansson) where she still has a bit of trouble adjusting to life in the U.S. as she misses Hungary and Teri & Jeno. To calm her sadness, she turns to smoking and alcohol to numb her pain while having fun with her school friends. Margit however, disapproves of Suzanne’s behavior as the mother-daughter tension is at its peak. Peter is forced to go on a business trip as Margit wants him to talk about Suzanne’s behavior but he insists he’ll talk once he gets back home. Suzanne would often sneak out of the house to hang out with her friends while she talks to her sister Maria (Larisa Oleynik) about their mother where Maria said that Suzanne has always been the one they care about since they weren’t with her for her first five years. Suzanne gets caught one night from sneaking out of the house where Margit puts bars and locks outside of her bedroom.

The looming tension between mother and daughter finally comes to ahead where Suzanne finds a shotgun and shoots herself out with her mother in distraught and her father returning to see the result of the nine-years of turmoil that had finally been building up. Suzanne apologizes for the incident but asks her father about the vow they took to return to Hungary, which really upsets Margit. Peter buys a ticket for Suzanne to go to Hungary where she meets Teri & Jeno in Budapest where she learned they lost their farm to the government and is forced to live in a modest apartment in the city. Suzanne also meets her grandmother and learns the dark secrets of her family and the political climate of Hungary where she is forced to grow and learn who she really is.

Eva Gardos brings out a heartwarming family drama that isn’t a typical, melancholic drama as she brings the oppressive tone of communist Hungary (though the city of Budapest is shot brilliantly) in the 1950s as well as the tranquil tone of American suburbia. Her script is filled with many strong moments including the clashes of culture and family turmoil. While some parts of the film are predictable, they make up for it with strong performances from its cast. Nastassja Kinski delivers an amazing performance as the overly protective Margit as she works to bring her child back while dealing with her as a teenager as a foreign mother who clearly doesn’t get the current American teenage activities. Tony Goldwyn brings in a refreshing performance as a warm, sympathetic father figure who works hard to bring his family together while giving them a great life. Goldwyn, often playing some brooding character or villain, proves he can maintain something that isn’t dark while he also does well in his Hungarian accent.

The performances of Balazs Galko, Zsuzsa Czinkoczi, and Agnes Balfalvy in their respective roles as the Hungarian adoptive parents and Suzanne’s grandmother are well-cast to give the film a foreign feel without being dumb-down to Americanized caricatures of usual Hollywood statures. The performance of Kelly Endresz-Banlaki as little Suzanne is well performed as she captures the innocence of the young little girl who finds herself confused to a world that is foreign to her. Finally, there’s Scarlett Johansson who delivers an amazing performance as the older Suzanne as she plays the rebellious, spiteful teenager who tries to find herself and her character develops slowly into something more mature towards the end of the film. Johansson proved that she could play a strong lead in this film while bringing depth into her character.

***Updated Section 1/11/04***

In the DVD of “An American Rhapsody”, the features are minimalist at best. Aside from a lovely trailer, there’s audio commentary from writer/director Eva Gardos and film producer Colleen Camp, who both met each during the set of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War masterpiece “Apocalypse Now” where Gardos was a casting agent and Camp played a memorable role as one of the Playboy Playmates in the film. The audio commentary in “An American Rhapsody” discusses Gardos’ own experience in her childhood as well as technical moments and performances of the film, notably Nastassja Kinski, who wanted to be in the film so badly.

They also discussed the scenes they shot in Hungary, why it started out in black-and-white to give the feeling of the Cold War. Gardos also talks about the authenticity surrounding the film’s American suburban look and its story. Some she admits, were fictional but she used it for the dramatic tone. Camp and Gardos also discussed Scarlett Johansson’s performance where they were both impressed with her range and ability as a strong dramatic actress.

***End of Updated Section***

“An American Rhapsody” is a strong, heartwarming drama from Eva Gardos led by the amazing performances of Johansson, Kinski, and Goldwyn. While the film may be a bit predictable on some spots, its performances help make “An American Rhapsody” an excellent family film without straying to the conventions of typical family dramas. For fans of Scarlett Johansson, this film is an essential look into Johansson as an actress while she is now making the transition into adult roles. For a good family drama with compelling performances, “An American Rhapsody” is the film that delivers.

Scarlett Johansson Reviews:

Manny & Lo (1996):

http://www.epinions.com/content_109962628740

The Horse Whisperer (1998):

http://www.epinions.com/content_120434691716

Ghost World (2001):

http://www.epinions.com/content_108939415172

The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001):

http://www.epinions.com/content_112639446660

Lost in Translation (2003):

http://www.epinions.com/content_113414475396

Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003):

http://www.epinions.com/content_120964615812

The Perfect Score (2004):

http://www.epinions.com/content_128189369988



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older