Music Box

source: Music Box

A thought-provoking and intelligent film dealing with brooding and interesting deeds. The picture blends courtroom thriller, political post-boiler and domestic melodrama. It revolves around an advocate at law, Jessica Lange, defending her father , a too quiet Armin Mueller Stahl, of being a Hungarian war criminal, accused to commit grisly massacres in Hungary. The allegedly good father is a retired Hungarian blue-collar living in Chicago these last 37 years and is today framed of being head of a Hungary Special Section, a death squadron under Nazi supervision . If she loses, her daddy faces deportation charges, and then juzged at Hungary by a strict and expeditive criminal court . As the case progresses, she must struggle to remain objective, but things go wrong. Very fine drama with emotion, suspense, intrigue and a curiously impactanting finale. This thoughtful film provides a series of portrayals of some ethnic roles who result to be highly convincing. Awesome interpretation from Jessica Lange as the obstinate solicitor who comes to terms with the possibility his dad is culprit and adequate acting by Armin Mueller Stahl as the accused father who faces extradition counts . Most of the other interpretations are fine, as Donald Moffat, Frederic Forest as the prosecutor attorney, Cheryl Bruce, Michael Rooker as lawyer's boyfriend and a little boy, Lukas Hass, in spite his age he gives one of the best performances. It contains an evocative and sensitive musical score by Philippe Sarde, including Hungarian and ethnic sounds. As well as atmospheric and appropriate cinematography by Patrick Blossier, being shot on location in Chicago and Budapest, Hungary . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Constantin Costa Gavras. He is a veteran filmmaker with a long career, nowadays, he's directing still, including several provoking, political and engaging movies, such as : Z, State of siege, The confession, The sleeping car murders, Missing, Hanna K, Conseil de Familie, Betrayed, Mad city, Amen, The axe, among others. Rating 8/10. Above average. Essential and indispensable seeing. Well worth watching.

Jessica Lange should have been nominated for and won the Oscar as early as 1989 for this film. Beyond the superb acting of Lange and her supporting cast, however, the importance of this production is that it focuses on the little known truth that other European nationalities, in this case quite a lot of Hungarians, participated in the persecution of the Jews during and even long before the Nazi domination of Europe. Nazi sympathizers and material supporters were to be found in practically all countries of Europe, including Great Britain where prominent industrialists and even members of the Royal Family were known to promote that odious ideology. After all, England, was the first European country to expel Jews by royal legal edict in 1290. And, during the holocaust years, we now know that Ukrainian, Croatian, Hungarian, Austrian and other European peoples had their own pro-Nazi organizations that actively facilitated the deportation and extermination of the Jews. After Germany's defeat, many Nazi criminals fled to countries all over the world including the United States. Some of them even posed as Jewish refugees. In this movie, SPOILER: the father of the character played by Lange curried the favor of US authorities by being a rabid anti-communist who went out of his way to demonstrate at cultural events sponsored by the Soviet Union. He wasn't play acting as indeed Nazis and their sympathizers were logically anti-communist. His motive, however, was to avoid being repatriated to Hungary where he was wanted for war crimes.

This is a fantastic film. I live here in Budapest where part of the story is told. From what I have learned by talking to many people who witnessed the events of the 1956 Revolution, this film accurately depicts the situation, as grim as it is. This was the type of things that really happened. In this film you are spared the gory details, but what is told and the photos that are shown are vivid enough. The buildings on the street where I live today are riddled with pock marks from machine guns. I was here between 90 and 95 just after the country shed communism and witnessed the suspicion on the people's faces on the public transportation. Today (2005), since my return to Budapest, I have found the society to be much different, although the effects of communism can still be seen. People are not so suspicious, although many of those who lived through that horrifying time (late '40s well into the 'mid '50s), still believe that the secret police are a part of the system. This is the degree to which it effected the people. I have been to the places where evil things took place. I was here before the statues of Lenin and Stalin were removed, before the red star was removed from the Parliament, when the Soviet soldiers were still here. Creepy! If you want to know what the history of Hungary was like during this time, you MUST see this film. It is chillingly accurate to history.

An amazing film. I found myself hoping against hope that the accusations of murder against the Hungarian immigrant was false, and the slow realisation that he was actually a cold-blooded murderer (or had been) was devastating. The story unfolds in a satisfying and well narrated way, and we identify with Lange's character as wanting to believe (in the face of all evidence) her father is innocent. We go with her on the roller-coaster ride of the courtroom trial, and as each sobbing victim comes to the pedestal, her confidence fades and fades. The film features amazing performances by Lange and Mueller-Stahl, and the bitter resolution of the daughter disowning her father, and having to explain to her little boy (who loves his grandfather) is heart-wrenching but never sentimental. Costa-Gavras at his best.

*May Be Spoilers* Jessica Lange has always been one of my top favorite actresses. Apart from being beautiful, she has the ability to make even dull characters seem vibrant, due to the fact that she usually just seems so fresh, unstudied, flexible. When you pair her up with a more demanding role or intriguing character, the results can be even better. Case in point is the part she plays in "Music Box": Ann Talbot, a single mother of one who happens to be an attorney. She is a woman who smiles or laughs when she's nervous or embarassed, always seems to be searching and scanning people's faces with her eyes, mentally interpreting everything they say and forming quick decisions and rebuttals. She also can "sneak up on you and clobber you", like in the brilliant, deceptive dinner conversation with Frederic Forrest that turns ugly. (You'll just have to see it, trust me.) Lange seems to effortlessly tune us in to all the nooks and crannies of Ann's personality, which in turn makes us riveted in the emotional scenes of the film because we feel like we're seeing an actual person who we know and care about in such dramatic circumstances. Armin Mueller-Stahl lends credible support as Laszlo, but this is Jessica's show pretty much all the way; we don't really know him at all as a character because the script gives him little to do, probably in an effort to make us not really know whether he's guilty or not -- until the end, of course. Frederic Forrest has the best moments apart from Lange as the prosecuting attorney who often resorts to typical arrogant machismo or petulance to prove his points, although the character also feels somewhat one-sided. You can tell the film is Gravas's work, due to the political overtones and a small-group-of-people-working-together-to . . .-type plot. Technically well made and never dull, often rewarding, but that's due to the acting. I suspect with lesser actors involved it could have been rather bland. Kudos to the casting director. See it if you're looking for a solid courtroom drama with standout performances, or if you're a fan of Lange, who gets to speak some Hungarian in the film as well -- impressive job again, Jessica! My rating: 8/10

When i watched this movie, i did really enjoy the first 90 min. However, after the visit to Hungary and the too neat discovery of the pictures of Mishka Laszlo in the music box, i just could not believe that the movie was going to go in the direction it actually went. What we actually see is a movie about a daughter who betrays his own father, sends him to prison, compromises the life of her own family, destroys her own reputation and stains the future of her only son. Not at any time the old Nazi Criminal is questioned by her daughter as to his motives, as she never tries to understand what drove the old man to commit those atrocities 40 years ago. The daughter's behavior is unrealistic, and it makes you wonder who is the actual monster. The movie is an effective courtroom drama, with a good plot, good script, and excellent actors. Jessica Lange plays well the daughter, and Armin Mueller Stahl is excellent, as usual, in his role of ambiguous Nazi criminal. The pity is that all is too obvious. The old man never stood a chance, as it was her own daughter who tried him and convicted him. Also, there is no explanation or attempt to understand the old man, his convictions, his motivations, his feelings, or the context in which he supposedly committed those atrocities. The movie assumes from the very beginning that the old man is a bad guy, and that's it. The main question that was in the mind of everybody, and the question that every reputable, sane, caring and loyal daughter would have asked is never answered, and it is a big, big elephant in the room: why did you do it, Dad?? She never asks that. As far as we know, the old Nazi worked 30 years in a Factory, gave a good education to his daughter, and was a good provider. The movie shows very well that the old man indeed took care of his family, and shows great affection and love for her daughter, son and grandson. But the daughter betrays him without even asking the only reasonable question a son or daughter could ask: Why the hell did you do it?? So, the daughter assumes that daddy is a monster after all, does not try to understand his behavior or motives, life or context, and in a very merciless gesture she herself betrays him. The old man is not to pity, as he was a Nazi criminal. However, it is just unbelievable that a daughter "would do the right thing". Family is family. The courageous end for this movie would have been her daughter asking him for his motives, and either accepting it or not. But the righteous crap end is totally unacceptable and lacks credibility. If not, just think for yourself and ask yourself this question: If you knew that your dad shot some people in "Nam" in some questionable circumstances, would you go to the district attorney or military prosecutor straightaway and try to get your own dad convicted, or would you ask him to explain himself and give him an opportunity?? The movie is rubbish and takes the easy way out. I give it a three only because Jessica Lange and Armin Stahl are great actors.

I was astounded in reading the comments on these films to see people saying that Armin Muehler-Stall's character is flat and empty.Also, those that say his angry outbursts are not threatening. My father is a Hungarian immigrant who I have wondered where he has a similar "true story". I can say from personal experience that Armin's performances are consistent with my father's outbursts and for me personally were terrifying when seeing the movie. In terms of the generalization that the performance was "flat", there is a cold, clinical, almost sociapathic sense to some elderly Hungarians. Additionally, I found Jessica Lange's performance COMPLETELY believeable as someone raised under such strong expectations and often silent or restrained about true expressions of emotion or fear. That's my two cents. DO NOT underestimate the ACCURACY of this film.

Greek director Costa Gavras is the one that gave us such strong and impressive films as "Z" (based on the kidnapping and murder of CIA agent Dan Mitrione by pro-Cuban Tupamaro's urban guerrilla in Ururguay in the late 60's) and "Missing" (about the disappearance of a young American citizen during General Pinochet's military government in Chile in the 70's). No doubt the man liked to enter compromising and complex movies. In "Music Box" he delivers a sort of court film drama about a lawyer in Chicago that defends her father when he is accused of being a war criminal in his youth as a member of the Hungarian branch of the German SS troops. Though perhaps sort of predictable, the film is intense and catching right from the start. Jesicca Lange renders one of the best performances of her career and so does Armin Mueller-Stahl in the main roles both most convincing. With no major bumps along its 2 hours run, "Music Box" is an enjoyable and highly recommendable product in its genre. Just for the record: in Argentina "Music Box" was renamed as "Mucho màs que un crimen" ("Much More than Just a Crime").

This is one of Jessica Lange's best parts and one of Costa-Gavras 's finest achievements.I have a tendency to prefer his American works to his French ones such as "Z" and "l'aveu". Lange portrays a brilliant lawyer,but unlike so much Hollywood trial stuff,she has got something to lose in this case:she has got to defend her father ,accused of high crimes during WW2.Besides, "High crimes" starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman stole its screenplay from "Music Box". The movie has a terrifying dramatic progression.At the beginning of the movie,we side with the father ,but,little by little,doubt worms its way into us.Absorbing from start to finish,I recommend this film to anyone who is sick and tired of these trivial trials where the actors overact.