Everything Is Illuminated (2005)

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 an eccentric local.

Director:

Liev Schreiber

Writers:

Jonathan Safran Foer (novel), Liev Schreiber (screenplay)

Stars:

Eugene Hutz, Elijah Wood, Jonathan Safran Foer

6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

A young Jewish American flies to the Ukraine in search of his grandfather's past. He has a photograph and the name of a village. He hires the Odessa Heritage Tours, made up of a gruff old man and his English-speaking grandson. The three, plus grandfather's deranged dog, travel in an old car from Odessa into Ukraine's heart. Jonathan, the American, is a collector, putting things he finds into small plastic bags, so he will remember. Alex, the interpreter, is an archetypal wild and crazy guy. Alex asks the old man, "Was there anti-Semitism in the Ukraine before the war?" Will they find the village? The past illuminates everything.

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Plot Keywords:

village | ukraine | jewish american | old man | jewish | 

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Taglines:

Leave Normal Behind.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Independent Pictures [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Ukrainian

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alles ist erleuchtet

Filming Locations:

Odessa, Ukraine

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$66,806 (USA) (16 September 2005)

Gross:

$1,705,595 (USA) (25 November 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Independent Pictures (WIP), Telegraph Films, Big Beach Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The magazine that Alex and his brother actually reads "Large Furniture".

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Goofs

Francis Scott Key is credited for the "Star Spangled Banner". The composer, John Stafford Smith (1750-1836), should have been given credit rather than Key who was the lyricist. In the movie, the performance is played by a band and no lyrics are heard.

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Quotes

Alex: How much currency would a first-rate accountant receive in America?
Jonathan: I don't know, a lot, probably, if he or she is good.
Alex: She?
Jonathan: Or he.
Alex: Are there Negro accountants?
Jonathan: Yes, there are *African American* accountants, but you don't want to use that word.
Alex: And homosexual accountants?
Jonathan: There are homosexual *everythings*. There are homosexual garbage men.
Alex: [shocked] And how much currency would a Negro homosexual accountant receive?
Jonathan: You really shouldn't use that word.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Several songs are credited to the New York punk/Gypsy/Jewish klezmer band, Gogol Bordello, which is led by Eugene Hutz, who plays Alex in the film (the same band greets Jonathan when he arrives on the train). The last of these songs, "Start Wearing Purple (For Me Now)," which plays over the end credits, is credited to both a correct spelling (Gogol Bordello), dg and Gogol Bodello, an incorrect spelling.

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Connections

Referenced in Dexter: Everything Is Illumenated (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Fear of the South"
Written by Mark Orton
Performed by Tin Hat Trio
Courtesy of Ropeadope/Artemis Records

User Reviews

Illumination is Humorous, Sad, & Deeply Moving

I really liked this movie ... but the ads I saw implied, and one published review actually said, that this movie "benefits from a light touch." That to me is very misleading.

There is indeed plenty of humor: eccentric, un-subtle, sometimes somewhat twisted humor: the kind of humor I generally find very appealing indeed. But most of the humor is the kind that appears conscious at all times of things deeply serious, deeply sensitive, even deeply painful. The movie weaves together themes of Past and Present, Perception and Truth, Memory and Activity, Life and Death. The entire movie is suffused by the history of European anti-Semiticism in general, and of the Holocaust in particular.

How can Humor and Horror be combined in the same movie? The review I saw suggested that the humor is Absurdist. I don't think this is the case at all; at least not in the common sense. Instead, I think this movie stands in the tradition of much Jewish / Yiddish literature and theatre. I don't claim to be any kind of expert in this area; but from what I've seen, Humor is used, in this cultural context, both as a coping tool for the horribly tragic experiences of this people; and also Humor is used as a means of "recovering the Divine" for men and women who choose a path of Faith rather than a path of either Despair or Absurdism. See "Fiddler on the Roof" for Humor used in both ways in this rich tradition.

Elijah Wood (Jonathon) Wood wears horn rimmed glasses that really make him look, well, strange: compare Sin City when he wore the same kinds of glasses with chilling effect. In this movie, it's easy to see how the glasses become a metaphor for both his Search and for his Struggle between Perception and Truth. Eugene Hutz (Young Alex) and Boris Lesking (Old Alex) are both really just wonderful. Jonathon and Young Alex are from the same generation, yet seem so very, very different; and then find that they are not so different after all. And the way in which the Apparent Narrative Voice changes gradually from that of Jonathon to that of Young Alex .. as a journey of intended discovery for Jonathon becomes one of discovery for both Young Alex and Old Alex ... is to me so very moving.

There are some wonderful scenes and panoramas from (I'm told) Prague and environs, standing in for the Ukraine of the story line. All feels very authentic and seems to give a wonderful sense of place; although I've never been myself to the Ukraine and can hardly testify to this from first hand experience.

All in all, if you're looking for light comedy, I would not recommend this movie at all. On the other hand, if you are interested in a wonderful, delightful, and deeply moving film, please, check out this wonderful movie.