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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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 | |
| Genres | Audio Descriptive, Drama |
| Language | DVD: English, English Audio Description |
| Released | DVD: 27 Mar 2006 Production year: 2005 |
| Format | DVD |
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
Hutz's embodiment of 'street' Kiev is a blast... Lifted directly from the book, his mangled English raises the film's biggest laughs
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!
This film is super good. The book, however, is just as good if not better, there is more magical details about the history of Trachimbrod, which happened to be a crazy town.
The acting is superb and Elijah Wood is surprisingly un-hobbit-like. I love the Ukraianian dude but most of all I love the seeing eye bitch and the language they use. It is funny, heart-felt and even possible to watch at 7.30 in the morning having just woken up.
Watch it!