zzbeijing I was totally absorbed when I watched the movie about 2 months ago, i watched 2 time in a row. It was really moving, and I guess if you really watch it carefully, and understand all the stories in the movie, you would probably fall into tears at some moments. So basically the girl was growing in her home country where her parents escaped to the US because of the political/war reason. But when the girl was warmly greeted in the US airport when she was five years old, she had very serious homesickness. She thought of her foster parents in Hungary very often until she was grown up to 15. and quite understandably, her dad promised her to send her back to her foster parents if she still felt uncomfortable until she was aged. this was a trip to remember, but the director obviously was in a rush, so even though she was quite happy with her foster parents when she was in Hungary, she left again, and went back to her parents in the US. I still did not understand why the girl desired to get back even she had set up some links in the US. and surprisingly she got back soon after she met her grandmom in Hungary. But i like her foster parents so much and their brilliant performance lightened the movie a lot and especially her foster mother, who was really sincere in the film. But the worst one in the movie would be Scarllett Johanson, i saw some other movies of hers. but i did not like any of them. Her voice was bad, and her performance was totally disappointing to me.

ahorvath Let me preface this review, by saying that this is indeed my first review, so a certain sense of rustiness will be noticed.With that out of the way, lets get to the meat of the topic. Being of Hungarian origin, it was hard to overlook certain shortcomings with regards to the use of language and music. There are certain situations where i thought the use of the Hungarian language would have been more forceful and certainly more emotionally satisfying, as opposed to using English. And while the movie was made with American audiences in mind, nevertheless, this type of small movie should be able to get away with the use of subtitles all the way through. As far as the music was concerned, it was not even of Hungarian origin in most cases. Considering the title used the word rhapsody, there would have been scope for the use of genuine Hungarian music.The director's stated ambition - in the audio commentary - was to portray all the characters in a sympathetic light, so that we - the audience - do not feel more emotional attachment towards one set of parents over the other. Well, maybe it is me, but I did feel more sympathetic towards one set of parents than the other. Which makes the ending all the more less satisfying and somewhat rushed. As if, somebody said, but we need a feel good ending. If only life would be so simple.On the positive side, the performance of the 6 year old Susannah or Zsuzsi, is quite remarkable. To have such a range of emotions displayed by a child of that age is simply unique. The look of the movie is also well thought out, with the use of the black and white at the beginning and later reverting to full colour.Ultimately, it is a movie that will satisfy the general American audience, but for those that have personal experiences similar to those in the film, will find the whole experience somewhat wasted. The potential was there.... my score is 3/10

Teebs2 I had to pinch myself when I read a previous review calling this a profound cinematic work of art! I just hope that reviewer hasn't seen many films in order to make that statement. This is worse than most TV or direct to video films and respected critic Roger Ebert gave it three stars!?. The direction starts off promising. The escape from Communist Hungary is recreated in black and white that has the look and feel of an old film but after this it descends into mediocrity with a strong reliance on flashback and heavy-handed symbolism. The acting is pretty average all around except Scarlett Johanssen whose portrayal of the teenage Suzanna was good given the limitations of the script, which is pretty limited. What lowered it below being an average, sentimental TV drama was a general lack of respect for the history and culture of Hungary. The representation of 1960's Hungary is dreadfully inaccurate with various factual errors. Although much of the Hungarian scenes were shot on location in Budapest, the rural scenes were suspiciously Romanian. Much of the language was blatantly an English script translated, and therefore the Hungarian language is often used inaccurately and unrealistically, particularly the phrase "I love you" which is not said in the same way as in the English language. The final insult is that much of the "traditional" Hungarian music in the background wasn't actually Hungarian but of Slav origin. Although apparently a vaguely autobiographical story of Eva Gardos, the director, this film shows remarkable ignorance to it's subject matter. Not recommended and certainly not an example of a "new dimension" in filmmaking by any standards.

jim If anyone can watch this heartbreaking tale without crying, you must have a heart of coal. Natasha, Scarlet, the war between Mom and daughter, the trip to Hungary, her reunion with the farm couple who adored her, oh my God. I saw this first in Santa Monica with a male friend who is a stolid and Stoic Estonian , and he sobbed. A movie of great passion and love. When I want to cry I watch it again.