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Everything Is Illuminated (2005)
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Overview
Tagline:
Leave Normal Behind.Plot:
A young Jewish American man endeavors to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II in a Ukrainian village, that was ultimately razed by the Nazis, with the help of a local who speaks weirdly funny broken English. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
7 wins & 4 nominations moreUser Comments:
A Sentimental Road Trip ThroughThe Impact of Eastern European History moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Eugene Hutz | ... | Alex | |
| Elijah Wood | ... | Jonathan Safran Foer | |
| Jonathan Safran Foer | ... | Leaf Blower | |
| Jana Hrabetova | ... | Jonathan's Grandmother (as Jana HrabÄtová) | |
| Stephen Samudovsky | ... | Jonathan's Grandfather Safran (as StÄpán Samudovský) | |
| Ljubomir Dezera | ... | Young Jonathan | |
| Oleksandr Choroshko | ... | Alexander Perchov, Father | |
| Gil Kazimirov | ... | Igor | |
| Zuzana Hodkova | ... | Alex's Mother (as Zuzana Hudková) | |
| Mikki | ... | Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. | |
| Mouse | ... | Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. | |
| Boris Leskin | ... | Grandfather | |
| Robert Chytil | ... | Breakdancer | |
| Jaroslava Sochova | ... | Woman on Train (as Jaroslava Sochová) | |
| Sergei Ryabtsev | ... | Ukrainian Band Member (as Sergej Rjabcev) |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for disturbing images/violence, sexual content and language.Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
106 minCountry:
USAColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreCertification:
USA:PG-13 (certificate #41916) | Brazil:14 | Ireland:12A | Mexico:B15 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:12 | UK:12A | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Finland:K-11 | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15MOVIEmeter: 
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
'Eugene Hutz (I)' 's band Gogol Bordello appears as the polka band that greets Elijah Wood at the train station. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When the three meet the small kid who asks them for chewing gum, the kids hands have different positions on the window when filmed from inside the car or from his back. moreQuotes:
Alex: [In Ukrainian][to Lista]
Alex: Please, don't be scared. Cars are totally safe now. They even have airbags, crumple zones... Maybe not this one... but most!
more
Soundtrack:
Cudna Zena moreFAQ
Who is the dedication to at the end of the movie? Alex 1993more
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"Everything is Illuminated" is a simplified interpretation of something more than half of the Jonathan Safran Foer novel. This version is more about changes in Eastern Europe from World War II through post-Cold War and how the younger generation relates to that history as a family memory.
Debut director/adapter Liev Schreiber retains some of the humor and language clashes of the novel, mostly through the marvelous Eugene Hutz as the U.S.-beguiled Ukrainian tour guide. He is so eye-catching that the film becomes more his odyssey into his country and his family as he goes from his comfortable milieu in sophisticated Odessa to the heart of a cynical, isolated land that has been ravaged by conquerors through the Communists and now capitalists, with both Jews and non-Jews as detritus. As funny as his opening scenes are when he establishes his cheeky bravura, we later feel his fish-out-of-waterness in his own country when he tries to ask directions of local yokels.
Shreiber uses Elijah Wood, as the American tourist, as an up tight cog in a visual panoply, as his character is less verbal than as one of the narrators in the book. He and Hutz play off each other well until the conclusion that becomes more sentimental in this streamlined plot. Once the grandfather's story takes over in the last quarter of the film, marvelously and unpredictably enacted by Boris Leskin, the younger generation does not seem to undergo any catharsis, as they just tidy up the closure.
Schreiber does a wonderful job visualizing the human urge to document history. One of his consultants in the credits is Professor Yaffa Eliach and her style of remembering pre-Holocaust shtetl life through artifacts clearly inspired the look and it is very powerful and effective.
The Czech Republic stands in for the Ukraine and the production design staff were able to find memorable symbols of change in the cities, towns and countryside, as this is now primarily a road movie, and the long driving scenes do drag a bit. Schreiber retains some of the symbolism from the book, particularly of the moon and river, but having cut out the portions of the book that explain those, they just look pretty or ominous for atmosphere and no longer represent time and fate.
As W.C. Fields would have predicted, the dog steals most of his scenes for easy laughs. In general, Schreiber does go for more poignancy than the book. It is irresistibly touching, especially for those who haven't read the book, but less morally and emotionally messy.
The film is enormously uplifted by its marvelous soundtrack, which ranges from songs and instrumentals from Hutz's gypsy band to traditional tunes to contemporary tracks to Paul Cantelon's klezmer fusion score.
This is not a Holocaust film per se, being a kind of mirror image of "The Train of Life (Train de vie)" as about memory of a time that is freighted with meaning now, but will resonate more with those who have an emotional connection to that history.