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An American Rhapsody

Play trailer Poster for An American Rhapsody PG-13 2001 1h 42m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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56% Tomatometer 61 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Amidst the shadows and secrets of Communist Hungary, one family's desperate escape plan goes terribly wrong. By dark of night, the family attempts a daring getaway, sneaking over the heavily armed border, but at an unthinkable price - their infant daughter is mistakenly left behind. From a new writer/director who lived through the astonishing events depicted in this film, comes a highly personal odyssey of a fierce young woman's bitter exile and hard-won redemption.
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An American Rhapsody

An American Rhapsody

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Critics Consensus

Though obviously a labor of love, American Rhapsody is an uneven, heavy-handed effort, particularly in the second half.

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Critics Reviews

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Jay Carr Boston Globe 09/14/2001
An American Rhapsody, in its straightforward way, earns its emotions. Go to Full Review Susan Stark Detroit News 09/07/2001
An American Rhapsody speaks from the heart to the heart. Go to Full Review Terry Lawson Detroit Free Press 09/07/2001
This should be a fascinating story, but An American Rhapsody never develops a melody or a rhythm, much less the epiphany the title suggests. Go to Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 06/27/2011
C+
A heartfelt coming of age tale of an Hungarian-American adolescent, well acted by Scarlett Johansson Go to Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 04/15/2009
B
In spite of the movie's inflated title, writer/director Eva Gardos tells an emotionally charged story of Hungarian immigration that is touching and historically accurate. Go to Full Review MaryAnn Johanson Flick Filosopher 11/19/2008
Not too many movies touch me so much that I need to retreat to somewhere private and sob my eyes out - this was one of them. Enormously poignant... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D 02/11/2023 The script never captures the power of the story. See more 12/29/2021 I was impressed. Captured the feel of the times. Historical but not a documentary. A moving story. Well acted. Fairly big budget placing you in the 1950s. See more 11/13/2021 A little slow developing however realistic on how one escaped the Iron Curtain to come to Freedom of USA. It makes me think how do people do it? My grandfather who fought against Gen. Franco in Spain always said "freedom beats that s o b any day." See more 03/15/2021 Emotional movie with great scenes. Beautiful cinematography. Bravo. I wonder why the low score on Rotten Tomatoes? See more 12/06/2019 A beautiful story eloquently told. Not an easy story to tell, I think, but the movie avoids all pitfalls and compels with honesty and simplicity...kudos to the director. See more Frances H 01/31/2018 This is a heart wrenching and fascinating story about the importance of our history to understand our lives, in this case, a double life led in childhood and parental history that explains so much. A story of an immigrant family's journey. See more Read all reviews
An American Rhapsody

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Cast & Crew

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Éva Gárdos

Director

Nastassja Kinski

Margit

Scarlett Johansson

Suzanne (at 15)

Tony Goldwyn

Peter

Ágnes Bánfalvy

Helen

Zsuzsa Czinkoczi

Teri

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An American Rhapsody

An American Rhapsody (2001) An American Rhapsody (2001) A scene from the movie An American Rhapsody. Nastassja Kinski as "Margit" in Eva Gardos' autobiographical drama An American Rhapsody. Eva Gardos (center) on the set of her autobiographical drama An American Rhapsody. Scarlett Johansson as "Suzanne" in Eva Gardos' autobiographical drama An American Rhapsody. Left to Right: Nastassja Kinski as "Margit", Mae Whitman as "Maria" and Tony Goldwyn as "Peter" in Eva Gardos' autobiographical drama An American Rhapsody. Tony Goldwyn as "Peter" in Eva Gardos' autobiographical drama An American Rhapsody. Eva Gardos (left) and Nastassja Kinski on the set of the Paramount Classics film An American Rhapsody. View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Amidst the shadows and secrets of Communist Hungary, one family's desperate escape plan goes terribly wrong. By dark of night, the family attempts a daring getaway, sneaking over the heavily armed border, but at an unthinkable price - their infant daughter is mistakenly left behind. From a new writer/director who lived through the astonishing events depicted in this film, comes a highly personal odyssey of a fierce young woman's bitter exile and hard-won redemption.
Director
Éva Gárdos
Producer
Colleen Camp, Bonnie Timmermann
Screenwriter
Éva Gárdos
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Fireworks Pictures, Seven Arts Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Material|Some Violent Content)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 20, 2001, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$850.0K
Runtime
1h 42m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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