EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: language, thematic elements

Rated:

Have you ever experienced one of those moments when you knew it was significant, but you could not put your finger on the reason why? Everything is Illuminated carries that kind of an emotional weight, a significance that what it has to share is not only subtly inspiring, but important as well. What begins as a hilarious journey transforms into a meaningful glimpse into the past.

Jonathan Safran Foer (Elijah Wood) is a collector. Much of his bedroom wall is covered in little plastic bags with objects inside them pertaining to the people he wishes to remember. Shortly after his grandmother became ill, she gave him a photograph of his grandfather and another woman standing in a distant field. The photograph is from before the second world war, and was taken in the Ukraine. Determined to find out who the woman was, and what significance she holds to his family, Jonathan arranges to take a trip abroad in search of the town where his grandfather used to live, in an attempt to bring a measure of closure to their relationship. Hired as his guide and translator is Alex (Eugene Hutz), who loves all things American, particularly the music.

Bullied by his abusive father into taking Jonathan in search of this town that no one has ever heard of, Alex is accompanied by his emotionally distant grandfather (Boris Leskin), who is under the delusion that he is blind, and his psychotic seeing-eye dog. It is a mystery to everyone why Grandfather even started his tour guide business, because most of their clients are wealthy Jewish people in search of family history, and there's nothing more he dislikes than wealthy Jews. While the strange trio attempt to get along, they ultimately uncover a much deeper mystery behind the beautiful amber necklace that Jonathan has brought with him, a memento from the photograph that might lead him to the woman that changed his grandfather's life forever.

At first, the viewer thinks it is just another eccentric little comedy, but as the story continues, we realize it is at its heart a very raw, very deep look at the human heart. The three people are brought closer together, and relationships are repaired through the length of their travels. Alex comes to understand a little bit about his grandfather, who is forced to face a past that he is ashamed of. Jonathan, in the meantime, learns that we do not collect and leave things behind so that we will be remembered so much as to inspire future generations. The lessons seem obscure and are not immediately evident, but there's something about the screenplay that connects with the audience on an emotional level. Yes, it is eccentric, and yes, there are many scenes that are played out for nothing more than hilarity, but toward the end you'll get a little lump in your throat as you feel the impact of various memories of the Holocaust. 

There is not an abundance of issues that make it unsuitable for family viewing, but an unfortunate amount of language in the first half. Grandfather likes to say bull****t, but cannot speak English, so it's all in subtitles, which also provide the single f-word in the film. "B**ch" is thrown around a lot, in regards to Grandfather's dog. Sexual content is mild, but includes a shot of Alex showing his little brother a pornographic magazine (we see nothing) and puzzling over a sexual position, a conversation about whether or not Jonathan is "carnal" with women, and a brief discussion on the size of the male anatomy. He asks him if there are many "homosexuals" in America. Grandfather beats Alex out of frame after he slaps the dog, and an early scene shows Alex's father punching him at the dinner table.

Flashbacks pan over the bodies of murdered Jews in a ditch, and the Holocaust comes up in conversation, when a woman muses about the terrible things the Nazis did to them. The camera pulls back from a bathtub filled with blood, implying a man slit his wrists in order to commit suicide. It is not a movie that everyone will love, but for the eccentric few among us, will resonate on multiple levels. It is only through the past that Everything is Illuminated.