Everything Is Illuminated (2005)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Liev Schreiber

Writers (WGA):

Jonathan Safran Foer (novel)
Liev Schreiber (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

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.

Plot Keywords:

Ukraine | Jewish American | Deranged | Car | Plastic Bag

Awards:

7 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Eugene Hutz	...	Alex
Elijah Wood	...	Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer	...	Leaf Blower
Jana Hrabetova	...	Jonathan's Grandmother
Stephen Samudovsky	...	Jonathan's Grandfather Safran
Ljubomir Dezera	...	Young Jonathan
Oleksandr Choroshko	...	Alexander Perchov, Father
Gil Kazimirov	...	Igor
Zuzana Hodkova	...	Alex's Mother
Mikki	...	Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.
Mouse	...	Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.
Boris Leskin	...	Grandfather
Robert Chytil	...	Breakdancer
Jaroslava Sochova	...	Woman on Train
Sergei Ryabtsev	...	Ukrainian Band Member (as Sergej Rjabcev)

Also Known As:

The Collector (USA) (pre-release title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images/violence, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian | Ukrainian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby | SDDS

Certification:

UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Brazil:14 | Mexico:B15 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:12 | Finland:K-11 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41916) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Lvov, Ukraine

Company:

Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)

Trivia:

'Eugene Hutz (I)''s band Gogol Bordello appears as the polka band that greets Elijah Wood at the train station.

Goofs:

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.

Quotes:

Alex: [voice over] This is my miniature brother, Igor. I am tutoring him to be a man of this world. For an example, I exhibited him a smutty magazine three days yore.
Igor: [in Russian] Why is it dubbed sixty-nine?
Alex: [voice over] I explain it to him that this is because it was invented in the year 1969. I know this because my friend Grisha knows a friend of the nephew of the inventor.
Igor: [in Russian] What did people do before 1969?
Alex: [voice over] He is a genius, my miniature brother. He will be made a VIP if I have a thing to do with it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Operation Filmmaker (2007)

Soundtrack:

Start Wearing Purple

A lovely Film

I walked into the movie theater, with no expectations for the film I was about to witness, "Everything is Illuminated". I walked out with a joy I have barely come to feel with American films. The directorial debut of actor, Leiv Schreiber, the film follows a man on his journey through the past, accompanied by an eccentric group including a brake-dancing barely English-speaking punk from the Eukraine, his grandfather who believes he is blind, and their crazy dog. The first half of the film is funny and smart with an extremely European flavor in the usage of small but wonderful characters, while the second half of the film descends into a somber story of discovery and the holocaust. This little movie brings out so many emotions, and so many colors, with such a wonderful conclusion and is more than just a story of illumination, but also of relationships and connections. The acting is incredibly powerful, the story mysterious and interesting, and the artistic appeal of the cinematography, to die for. With some brilliant and absolutely touching scenes "Everything is Illuminated" managed to capture my heart.