Everything is Illuminated: Elijah Wood stars as a young Jewish American who is obsessed with finding out everything he can about his grandparents past. After seeing his grandmother die, Jonathan (Wood) sets out on a trip to the Ukraine and tours the villages his grandparents lived during World War II. It was in these villages in the Ukraine that a young woman helped Jonathan’s Grandpa escape the Nazis. Overall the movie has a serious tone, but is also filled with quirkiness. The 2 characters that take Jonathan on the tour are odd balls. I see what the filmmakers were trying to do, but it just did not fit. They use these unusual characters in the film to bring plenty of humor early on, but later it does not seem to work. The acting by Wood is minimal and hurt the emotion of the movie. It is a shame too, because the idea for the movie is strong, could have been soo much better with a few tweaks here and there.
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If this movie had parents they would be: Big Fish & The Pianist
With a running time of 102 minutes
This film is rated PG-13
Ok, I was born and raised in Ukraine, specifically Lutsk, the city that the trifecta is travelling to in the film. As one who knows firsthand about my culture, I actually thought the writers did a great job in depicting the nature of my people... In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the film was made, overall. I know alot of white(american) people don't understand that, but in the last 15 years of living in U.S., I've unfortunately gotten used to ignorance. After all, they say it is bliss...
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