An American Rhapsody (2001) - full transcript

It was the summer of 1965.

I was 15 and my life
was already falling apart.

So I came back to Hungary...

Where it all began.

Budapest in the '50s.

The cold war.

Hungary was under the rule
of Stalin and Rakosi.

My father used to say
this was a time...

When everybody he knew was
either in jail or going to jail.

Or worse.

Margit.



Peter.

Peter.

Helen.

Helen.

Good morning.
Good morning.

How are you?

How are you?
I am fine, thank you. How are you?

I am very fine.
Good morning.

Good morning. Good morning. How are you?

I am fine.
Oh, she's fine!

Choose.

That.

Where do you think Zsuzsi
is right now?

Here's the hotel.



Thank you.
Very grateful.

Excuse me, sir. Where does
one apply for the visas?

This is the right one.
Inside?

You must go to the end of
the queue. This line here?

Okay, thank you, sir,
very much.

Is Zsuzsi coming today?

Tonight they are coming.

But it won't be
before you go to sleep.

Won't it be nice to wake up
to your little sister?

Yes.

Good day, madame.
It's for you.

Thank you.

Mama?

Mama!

Hello.

Thank you.

Hoo-hoo.
Hi, Papa.

So. They needed
airplane mechanics.

I raised my hand.
Do you know what they gave me?

Four visas to America! Maria,
did you know that your father...

Is the cleverest man
in all Vienna?

Gita, look.

Four visas.
One for each of us.

And flowers for the most
beautiful woman in the world.

I believed you!
- Stop! What's the matter?

You liar! Stop it! You're scaring the child.

Get away from her.
You get away from her!

- You don't deserve her after what you've done!
- I don't understand!

Your cleverness! All your
cleverness won't fix this!

We have to keep going.

The boat leaves from France
in two days.

As soon as we get to America
we'll send for Zsuzsi.

At least we know she's safe. You go.
I'm not going anywhere without her.

We have to get out of here.

Have you gone crazy?
First we get her.

How, Margit?
How?

We can't go back. They'll be watching
for us everywhere in Budapest.

I'm not afraid. How did this happen?
I trusted you. I believed you.

I believed you. You believed me because
you wanted to get out of Hungary.

But not without her. Did you think
there would be no danger? No risk?

We are running out of money.
There is no work here.

We'll never get another chance.

You want me to leave my baby?

She's my baby too.

It's difficult
to find a good suit.

You know, they don't eat veal
in this country.

Hamburgers.
Hamburgers!

- Be careful.
- I don't mean it. Sorry.

I got a lot of girls
that can do this job.

Please, I have family. And I have a business.

It was my mistake. I was clumsy.
I bumped into her. I'm sorry.

Then be more careful. You're
giving away all my profit.

- Understand?
- Yes, Mr. Woods.

Break's over!
Yes, sir.

Half an hour for lunch! Finish your lunch.
It's the contracts the company's getting.

Come on. Everything
is so fast in this country.

Nobody stops for life. Well,
starting over is not easy for anyone.

For Margit and I-
losing a child's not...

She's not lost.
Yeah, I know.

I sold two.

One to the German, believe it or not.

Soon we'll have enough to move.

Hello, my sweetheart.

From Gyuri?

Oh! Look at her.

She looks so much like you.

Look at her little arms.

I never saw her first step.

Or heard her first word.

We are doing everything we can.

We must keep faith.

All we can do is build a life
here for when she does come.

When?

Dag Hammarskjold, secretary
general of the United Nations.

Dear Mr. Hammarskjold.

My name is Margit Sandor, and I am
writing to ask you to please hear my story...

Mr. John Singer,
the American red cross.

Dear Mr. Singer.
This is the third time...

Vice president Richard Nixon.
Dear Vice President.

We are a family who recently
escaped from...

Senator Barry Goldwater.

U.S. house of representatives.

Dear Senator Goldwater.

Hello! Hi!

Hello?

Welcome to the neighborhood.
I'm Dottie. Hi, I'm Pattie.

- Hello.
- What a beautiful chandelier.

It is. Oh, I hope you
like upside-down cake.

Oh, yes, of course.
Of course. Come in, please.

Thank you.

These small cups are so cute.

They're from my country. I hear
you're from behind the iron curtain.

Uh, Poland?
Hungary. It's a neighbor with Austria.

It must be very beautiful. It was.

Oh. Wow. Maggie,
you know Eleanor Roosevelt?

Nikita Khrushchev!

I'm just writing to them
to ask for help for my family.

Help? Well, what is it,
Maggie?

Maybe we can help you.

My youngest child, Zsuzsi, was
left behind in Hungary. Oh, no!

She lives with a family
in the country.

My husband says that
the Americans will help us.

So I keep writing them.
Well, they will. We will.

Mrs. Roosevelt has a very good heart.

Oh. She's so precious.
How old is she?

Five and a half years.

Why would they want
a little girl?

Wow.
Mmm.

Oh, nice.

Away from the grill.

Helen.

Zsuzsi!

Mm-hmm.

Happy?

Tonight she will be sleeping
right here.

I will be tucking her in
and kissing her good night...

And telling her
how much I love her.

I'll come home early from the factory so
we get to the airport in plenty of time. No?

Okay.

Peter.

What if she's not on the plane?

Gita. She'll be here.

What will she be like?

She'll love you.

Just as much as I do.

What's going on?

It's so early.
It's early?

It's 6:00 in the morning, you
lazy girl! It's time to get up.

Attention, please. Flight two
from Budapest via London...

Is now arriving.

Welcome.
Zsuzsi.

Welcome home.
Hi.

Smile, folks.
Look at the camera.

Look! Here they come!

- Hi!
- Ooh!

Now can I go to the park?
No.

What? Mom, that's not fair! Okay, okay, go.

This is ketchup. It's very good. All right?

Um, no, no. You eat this with your hands.

It's a hamburger.

A toast to our family.

Together at last.

Cheers.
Cheers.

That's Coca-Cola.
Isn't it good?

Can you say "Coca-Cola"?
Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola.
- Listen.

That's us. Come!

Welcome home, Suzanne.

The little girl who had been kept
behind the iron curtain for six years...

Was reunited
with a happy family today,

thanks to the help
of the American red cross.

After years
of heartbreak and struggle,

the Sandor family is together
again. This is television. TV.

TV.

America welcomes you, Suzanne.

This is bubble gum.

You wanna make a bubble?

You gotta flatten it out first
with your tongue.

That's okay.
You'll get the hang of it.

I know she wasn't out front. I'll
take the car out looking for her.

I'll call the police. The
police? Gita, stop. No, no, no.

Just wait, just wait.
She'll be fine.

I'll find her.
Just calm down, okay?

Is anything wrong?

What's your name?

See house.

I know who you are.

You're the little communist girl
from Czechoslovakia.

I saw you on the news.
I'll take you home.

You like doggies?
He's my doggie.

This looks just like my house,
but this one's yours.

I bet your mom's been looking
for you.

Oh. Here you go.

Please don't do that again.

Jeno.

Betty, this is my kid sister.

Hi.
Hi.

- Who said you could
play with my stuff?

"Sorry," "sorry"! Mom said
you have to speak in English.

- Sorry.
- Good.

You have to learn to talk in English or
everybody's gonna think you're a creep.

Creep?
Yes, creep. Jerk.

You have to learn these hip words.

Like when you say something
tastes really good,

you say it tastes like shit.

Shit.

- Yes, that's perfect!
- Yes, that was really good.

Zsuzsi. Zsuzsi.

This would look so pretty on you.

May I help you, madam?

Yes, I want to buy some dresses
for my daughter.

I like cowboy pants.

Blue jeans.
Blue jeans.

I don't know why little girls in
America want to look like boys. Come.

You're beautiful.

I never go to store.

My mama...
Make my dress.

Zsuzsi,

I'm your mother.

I want you to call me mama.

Teri and Jeno took care of you,
and they love you,

but I'm your mama.

Come here.

Hey! How are you, my friend?

Say "cheese."
Cheese.

Not a bad life for a factory
worker, yeah? Not bad.

Only in America. We had these things in
Hungary before you Russians showed up.

Dottie, this is my friend Frank.

Oh. I've never met
a Russian before.

Zsuzsi.

You look so beautiful.

I'm so proud of you, honey.

They're nice.
So many of them.

Hi, Suzanne.
Oh, Sheila?

Did you come say "hi" to Suzanne?

Say "hi" to Suzanne.
Hi.

Hi.

How are you, Suzanne? I am fine.

You speak English so well! Thank you.

Have you tasted
all this wonderful food?

Yes. It is shit.

I'd like to make a toast...

First of all to you, our friends,
who have come here to share...

In the homecoming of our
youngest daughter, Zsuzsi.

We waited for her
for a very long time.

And to the greatest country
in the world. To America!

Zsuzsi!

Great party, huh?

Mom won't let me go to Betty's pajama party
just because I taught you some English.

I don't know why you keep all
your stuff in that old suitcase.

You're not going anywhere.
I go home.

Sorry, but you're in
the good old U.S.A... To stay.

No! Grandma said
I go back for school!

Zsuzsi!

You know, you frightened
your mother and me.

On the day you were born,

your grandmother Helen, she came
to the hospital and she said to me,

"Peter, you mustn't worry
that you didn't have a son...

"Because when this child
grows up,

she's going to be able to do all
the things that a man can do."

She was right, Zsuzsi.

You can do with your life
anything that you want.

But not in Hungary.

I like Hungary.
So do I.

But... there are some terrible
things that happened there.

They happened to your mother,
and they happened to me...

And to people that we loved.

We didn't want them ever to
happen to you, to your sister.

That's why we came to America.

Why did you leave me?

It was a mistake.

We never wanted to leave you.
You were our little girl.

I want to go home.

I know you do.

And I know you love
Teri and Jeno.

But do you think you could try
to learn to love us too?

I'll make you a deal.

When you're older,

if you still want to go,
I'll buy you a ticket.

Okay? But for now,

try to like it here.

Will you do that for me?

And for your mother.

Is it a deal?

Okay.

"I miss you more than ever.

"Summer's finally here,
and the flowers...

Remind me of home."

Good night.
Okay.

I love you so much.

Suzanne!

Hey!

Hey.

You're gonna have seven children. Seven?

Mmm. Let me see.

Your wife's name
starts with an "s."

Does your mother always give
you a hard time about going out?

No, it's not her fault,
you know?

I mean, she just wants me to grow
up as if I were in Hungary and...

She just doesn't get it,
you know?

Were you born in Hungary?

You bet.
That's cool.

Is that cool?
Yeah.

"Yeah."
Shut up.

Everybody else is going.

We're not like everybody else.

That's the problem.

You okay?

Whoo!

Hmm?

Zsuzsanna!

Where did you and Sheila go
all afternoon with those boys?

We went for a drive.

You've been drinking.

Did you let him touch you or...

I can't believe you embarrassed me
in front of my friends like that!

That boy's
much too old for you!

I don't want you to ruin your life!
How do you know what will ruin my life?

Do you know what your father
and I had to go through...

Yeah, I know!
You walked 20 kilometers...

And you climbed
under barbed wire, right?

- Yeah, I know.
- You don't know anything.

Hello.

Please don't leave
before we talk to her.

I'll call home tonight.
I'll talk to her then.

This is not something we can talk about
on the phone. She's going to be fine.

She's growing up.
It's natural.

If you want the truth, she's exactly
like you were. That's ridiculous!

She's not like me. You know
how children grow up here?

Drinking, driving fast and worse. How
would you know? You're always busy.

Okay. I'll call you
from Dallas.

Good-bye.

Hey.
Hey.

Your mom says you can't come
out. She says I have to stay in.

No!
Yeah.

What are you gonna do
about Paul?

I don't know.
I'll figure it out.

Okay.

What am I gonna do?

She's just upset because she
thinks you're gonna run away again.

No, I know, but I didn't
run away. I just went out.

When's dad coming home?

Ahh, not till the end of the week. Hmm.

But you know mom.
Just apologize, be nice...

And she'll calm down.

Yeah, but it's always
been easier for you.

No. No, it wasn't.

It's always been about you.

And no matter what I did,
it was never enough.

That's why I can't wait to get
married and get out of here.

Darling, I don't want to fight.

So I want you
to make me a promise.

You want me
to make you a promise?

Yes.

Good night.

Where were you all night?

Hmm?

You were with that boy again,
weren't you? Yeah. His name is Paul.

Zsuzsi, girls don't stay
out all night... your age.

You understand that?

You understand that?
Why would I listen to you?

I don't want you to do this again! Ever!

You never let me do anything anyway! I hate you!

I won't let you ruin your life.

Get dressed and
clean up your room, please.

- When dad calls,
can I talk to him?

Oh, no.
Wha...

If you come back, I'll call
the police! What are you doing?

I'm doing what's best for you.
Listen to me.

How do you know what's best
for me? I'm your mother!

According to you! I didn't see you
for the first six years of my life!

What kind of mother is that? One that loves you!

What kind of mother-
get off of me!

Mom!

Mom, open the door!

Open this door!

Mom, please open the door!

Mom!

Mom!

Mom, open the door!

No, no, no!

Here's your coffee.
Thank you.

I wanted to say I was sorry.

This episode-
it could've ruined your life.

You might have killed someone. I'm sorry.

Have some breakfast.
We'll talk.

I think I know
what I have to do.

I've been thinking about it since
that night in the park and...

I think I have to go
to Budapest.

- To Budapest?
- That's ridiculous.

Mom, I can't explain why I
have to go, I just have to go.

Completely out of the question.
When you finish high school...

And you show us that you know how to
behave, then you can go. I have to go now!

This is just another of your
crazy ideas! You're just a child!

I am not a child!
Why do you always say that?

You don't even know who I am.

What are you thinking? You
can't go to Europe by yourself.

I came from Budapest
when I was a little kid.

Do you think what you went
through last night was terrible?

Do you know that in Hungary people
disappear for saying the wrong word?

And you shoot up your room!

I'm not going to talk about it. I'm not
going to discuss it. It's ridiculous!

Dad, do you remember when I
came to America and I ran away?

And you made that promise.

In the park.

We shook hands.

I need you to keep
your promise, dad.

Please.

Zsuzsi?

Zsuzsi.

What bridge is that?
It's the chain bridge.

Don't you remember? When you
left home with your grandmother,

I tell you about it.
I remember.

Mmm.

We say "budapesht," not "Budapest."

Budapest.
"Budapesht."

"Budapesht."
"Sht. Sht."

How long have you lived here? Five years.

Really?
Mm-hmm.

It's nice.
Ahh.

I am back with
a very grown-up young lady.

Zsuzsi.
Mama.

Mama.

Zsuzsi.

Zsuzsi, my little girl.

My daughter.

Please eat.

This was always your favorite.

I used to hide my favorite chicks when
I was little so they wouldn't get cooked.

I know.

Do you miss the country?

Now that little house you
grew up in is a summer place...

For a government big shot.

Can they do that, just take your house away? Hmph!

They can, and they did.

But after you were gone,

it was better for us
to move away.

But now you've come home.

At last.

Good morning.

I have to go.
Where are you going?

I'm going to see my grandmother.

I have to.

I have to. I'm sorry.

This is my friend Paul.

Mmm. He is very handsome.

I used to walk here
with your mother...

When she was a little girl.

The gypsies played
their violins...

While their children
begged for money.

Your mother gave them
all my coins.

What's wrong?

An old lady can see things
in people's faces.

Mom didn't want me to come,

especially to see
Teri and Jeno.

Now that I'm here,
it's so hard.

They've been so good to me,

and they've been so hurt.

I guess I just make
everybody unhappy.

Budapest is such
a beautiful place.

Why did mom hate it so much?

Mmm.

It was wise of you to come.

Your mother was our only child.

Your grandfather loved her so.

He was so proud of her.

One night during the war,

we were sitting
in this very cafe.

There were some
Russian soldiers.

They were very drunk.

They shot him
right in front of us.

Grandfather fell
right on top of your mother,

his blood pouring onto her.

My husband was dead.

And your mother made it her
goal to get out of Hungary...

And go to America.

She wanted her children
to live in a better world.

Do you enjoy your stay
in Budapest?

I'm happy to be here with you.

Your visit has been
a great gift to us.

It was good of your parents
to let you come here.

I have to go.

I have to go home.

It's funny, but all these years I
felt like I didn't belong anywhere.

I thought maybe I belonged
in Hungary, but...

And I love being here.

I love you.

But this is no longer my home.

How many people live here now?

Mmm, ten or twelve.

A different family lives
in each of our rooms.

They share the bathroom and the kitchen. Hmm.

Was it very awful?

Prison?
Mm-hmm.

First I thought
I wouldn't survive.

But one day I began to play
a game in my head.

I began make up stories
for you and Maria...

Stories about princesses,
castles, magic.

I hoped that I would
one day tell you.

You risked everything for me.

What do I do?

I think you know.

We all made mistakes
out of love.

Okay?

I could send for you.

Dad would help me. He would. And mom would too.

My other mom.

Our traveling days are over.

But you are young and you must
enjoy every moment of life.

Are you sure you're gonna
be okay? We will be fine.

You made me very happy.

Zsuzsi, please don't forget us.

I won't.

It was an amazing trip.

I'm glad.
I'm glad you went.

You are?

I'm proud of you.

You're a brave girl.

You're brave.

Why didn't you tell me?

I just wanted to leave it
all behind me.

I was frightened.

I wanted to protect you.

I understand.

You know, since you left,
I understood something too.

That we are who we are
because of our past.

You know, you taught me that.

Hi, mom.

Hi, my daughter.

You're so beautiful.

My darling.

Hey.

Hey.