Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1242 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-27
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 101 minutes

Synopsis
Acclaimed actor Liev Schrieber (RKO 281, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) makes his directorial debut in this adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer's best-selling novel about a young Jewish-American writer of the same name. Mixing equal parts black comedy and poignant drama, the film follows Jonathan as he travels to the Ukraine to solve a family secret. There he meets his barely legitimate tour guides: Alex (Eugene Hutz, member of the folk-punk band Gogol Bordello), a cosmopolitan playboy obsessed with Michael Jackson and other American icons; Alex's grandfather, a man worn down by life who seems to be losing his grip on reality; and Sammy Davis, Jr. Jr, the 'seeing eye bitch' dog who comes along for the ride. As Jonathan closes in on his goal to find the story behind the woman who saved his grandfather during the Holocaust, it becomes clear that Alex's grandfather has a dark secret of his own that needs to be, as the film suggests, illuminated. EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED lives up to the quirkiness of its source material, and is similar to films like BEING JOHN MALKOVICH or LOST IN TRANSLATION. Filmed on location in Prague, the film features breathtaking landscapes, including a memorable scene in a field of sunflowers. Also notable is the film's soundtrack, which features songs by Gogol Bordello, as well as an outstanding ethnic score by Paul Cantelon. Quirky, funny, sweet, and sad, Schreiber's excellent adaptation provides both closure and hope for survivors of the Holocaust.

Customer Reviews

Pretentious cliche fest
This film suffers from every cliche under the sun. The straight-laced protagonist who thaws emotionally in the end but whose cartoonishly oversized glasses hint at vulnerability, the insecure but worldly-wise and endearing grandfather figure we see in every other film, and the infuriatingly well-intentioned youth whose good will prevails over immaturity. None of these characters is developed, merely drawn in as the trustworthy caricatures the film's creators must have hoped will get them through. Judging from the generally positive reviews here and elsewhere, it's mission accomplished. But trust me, you've seen it all before and done better.
But there are two particularly unwatchable elements: the first of these is the use of cliches as surrogates for emotion. The main character, Jonathan, "endearingly" collects souvenirs throughout the story, as though to make him see more human against the background of Elijah Wood's feeble performance. (There is literally a scene in which he cannot peer into the far distance convincingly.) It turns out, in the end, that some other characters do the same - and reach back from the tragic past to deliver various trinkets in a profounder-that-profound tribute to the power of memory. It's nauseating stuff, particularly when the drama of it all is forced down your throat through the exhausting repetition of long, dramatic shots of people looking at each other wistfully through moist eyes.
Secondly, the Jewish holocaust is hijacked. I'm not objecting here to the idea of its mention per se, or that its tragedy is paid insufficient homage. Rather, the problem is that the film lacks any emotional gravitas whatsoever and sets the plot, therefore, against the backdrop of Holocaust history - what could be more emotive than that, right? It's a cheap trick and it doesn't cover up that one is seeing is a hollow and pretentious production calling on every aesthetic it can to seem meaningful, poignant and deep as camouflage for the fact it just isn't. The Holocaust here is make-up. It's a terrible ploy.
Indubitably the book is better; few things could be worse than this pile of pretentious, underaching, self-involved twaddle. Of all the characters, by far the most captivating is a deranged dog whose involvement is peripheral at best. From the film's conception to its finish, somewhere along the line it suffered at the hands of emotional cripples, and probably cynical ones at that. Stay well clear of this. Little Miss Sunshine tries the same thing, but actually succeeds - try that instead.

the book doesnt get illuminated, but thats not everything!
if you have read the book, and then see that there is a film featuring elijah wood of it, i can see that you might be a little sceptical, but trust me, this is great.
its not all of the book, how could it be, its just the jonathans journey to ukrane bit..with alex and his grandfather, and the story gets a little changed for the film, but it really works. its quirky, its actually quite sweet, and, i hate to say it, but elijah is really good.
there are terrible films made of good books...but this is the exception.
if you liked the book as much as i did, then i think you will like this..
and everyone i know who has watched it, and hasnt read it, loved it too.
ok, funnily enough, its about the holocaust, but its strangely uplifting!
and that can only be a good thing.

Read the book - don''t bother with the film!
What a disappointment! Having just finished - and absolutely adored - the book, I was intrigued to see what the film would be like. I wish I hadn't bothered.

The director has gutted the novel of many of its most endearing and rewarding parts: most significantly, the rich, tragic and often hilarious history of Trachimbrod. Here, we end up with an almost straightforward road movie, which only succeeds in brushing the characters, events and themes of such a sophisticated and fulfilling novel, in only the most superficial way. We find out very little about the history of Trachimbrod; losing some of the most unique and fascinating characters that we come across in Safer's novel.
As a consequence, I felt little at the end but a sense of wasted time. For me, by the end of the film, nothing had been illuminated.