American Rhapsody

Pros: An Excellent Film from Eva Gardos featuring a brilliant performance from Scarlett Johansson.
Cons: At Times, Predictable on Some Spots.

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 ...

Pros: Complex story about immigration. Very human.
Cons: Some very fast fast-forwards.

As I watched An American Rhapsody, I thought about my boys and how it would feel to suddenly have to give one of them back. They are both biological, but raising them makes them mine. On the other hand, I can’t even imagine how terrible it...

Pros: A contrast between life in Budapest and LA, not always in the latter's favor.
Cons: Too many matters ignored. Too many questions unanswered. A failure at the climax.

Much of what we have experienced in classic Hollywood movies had its roots in Eastern Europe. That fact is ever more clear after a viewing of AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY: The hurried escape from repression, the separation of beloveds, success in The New Land,...

Pros: 1950's Budapest, children grow up, immigrant adjustment from European elite to LA working class
Cons: Sketchy background, too many questions left hanging, main character's own abilities or interests neglected

The best audience for this film is possibly "misunderstood" offspring of European immigrants - which I feel myself to be - or those here in California who feel something's missing, that they don't fit in, that they're inexplicably homesick for an "older,...