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Everything Is Illuminated Details

2005 DVD Certificate 15.gif
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 11,790 members

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 .. Read more

Starring Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, Boris Leskin, Laryssa Lauret
Director Liev Schrieber
Genres Audio Descriptive, Drama

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Everything Is Illuminated

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.

Starring Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, Boris Leskin, Laryssa Lauret, Zuzana Hodkova, Yuri Lemeshev, Igor Latta, Jan Pavel Filipensky
Director Liev Schrieber
Studio WARNER HOME VIDEO
Run time DVD: 1 hr 41 mins
Certificate DVD Certificate 15.gif
Genres Audio Descriptive, Drama
Language English, English Audio Description
Released DVD: 27 Mar 2006
Production year: 2005
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (3) of Everything Is Illuminated

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  • The story's intrinsic value and imaginative zest remain, as does the book's hilarious dialogue.The result is a charming and eccentric story of a journey through the back roads of the Ukraine, with a pair of unlikely guides

    • USA Today
    • Posted 08 Oct 2007

  • Hutz's embodiment of 'street' Kiev is a blast... Lifted directly from the book, his mangled English raises the film's biggest laughs

    • Sight and Sound
    • Posted 08 Oct 2007

  • Most helpful member's review of Everything Is Illuminated

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  • 18 out of 21 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    Highly entertaining - truly funny and thought provoking.

    A truly premium film! Maybe not quite as good as the original novel (a must read, laugh out loud, multi-stranded work of genius) but then very entertaining in its own right. They obviously had to cut a lot out for the film script, but the characters definitely come to life - particularly Alex and his grandfather.

    It's definitely one of those 'how did I miss it the first time round' films - maybe not to everyone's taste, but if you enjoy quirky, leftfield films with great characters and enough mainstream appeal to keep everything in check (i.e. Little Miss Sunshine) then please rent this.

    My recommendation - watch the film, enjoy and then read the book!

      • Ben Smith from Bath, England
      • Posted 30 Jul 2007 18:14

  • Most recent members' review of Everything Is Illuminated

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  • 8 out of 10 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Quirky - and a gem

    One of the best things about using a service like this is that you get to watch a huge variety of films and you get to discover films that you most likely would otherwise have missed.

    This one was a real gem. From time to time it's good to watch a film where not a great deal happens but where you really get beneath the skin of the characters.

    And from time to time this film made me gasp as I shared the growing realisation of Jonathan and Alex that Alex's grandfather knew more than he cared to admit. What wonderful performances from the four main characters.

      • Anne from Leeds, West Yorkshire
      • Posted 04 May 2006 09:57

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Rating breakdown

11,790 Member ratings
  • 100
1,205
  • 90
1,207
  • 80
2,497
  • 70
2,198
  • 60
1,965
  • 50
1,098
  • 40
710
  • 30
441
  • 20
321
  • 10
148

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      • 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 ...