Everything Is Illuminated (2005)

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)
Alles ist erleuchtet (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Una vida iluminada (Argentina) (Mexico) [es]
Allt är upplyst (Sweden) [sv]
Everything is illuminated (Todo está iluminado) (Spain) [es]
Kaikki valaistuu (Finland) [fi]
Minden vilángol (Hungary) [hu]
Ogni cosa è illuminata (Italy) [it]
Ola einai fotismena (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Todo está iluminado (Spain) (alternative spelling) [es]
Tout est illuminé (France) [fr]
Uma Vida Iluminada (Brazil) [pt]

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:

The blue car used throughout the movie is a Trabant 601 Kombi/Estate.

Goofs:

Factual errors: 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.

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:

References Sin City (2005)

Soundtrack:

Fear of the South

A stranger in a strange land so to speak.

In Everything Is Illuminated, Elijah Wood plays Jonathan Foer, a Jewish American who is looking for the woman who saved his grandfather during WWII. In a sense, the woman that saved his entire family.

This is a heart-felt tale about someone who is on a seemingly hopeless journey. A stranger in a strange land so to speak. Jonathan is not entirely prepared for this adventure, he sticks out like a sore thumb in the Ukraine (he would probably stick out like a sore thumb anywhere). But what he discovers is more, much more than he anticipated. This movie will make you laugh and will make you cry. Elijah Wood is really good in this film, based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.

From someone I talked to, this movie is somewhat different from the book. A book I gather is really good. Nevertheless, this is a good movie, it has something for everyone and I really enjoyed it. Can someone say Oscar?