Everything Is Illuminated

Absolutely brilliant! Have had to knock a film off my top 10 list to put this in there. This film is wet-yourself funny one minute and tragic the next.

I have forced at lease 7 people to watch this, including my mother, my 16 year old sister (who wont watch anything other than Mama Mia and Corssroads!) and my boss and they all loved it!

A suspringly good performance from Elijah Wood, but Eugene Hutz steals the show! Cannot wait for Liev Schreibers next "behind the camera" film now!!

Give it a go, you will not be disapointed!
(and watch out for the nod to Casablanca at the end!)

Brilliant! firstly - the soundtrack was really interesting.... wood was amazing.... the story ranged from laugh out loud funny to black comedy to deadly serious.... I watched this with a crowd, at first there were some doubters, but by the end, everyone was captivated! seriously good film, not too long and not too short.

I'm getting pretty good at finding some top class films without me knowing it. Films such as Sideways, The Straight Story and Little Miss Sunshine were excellently put together and received rave reviews. The likes of Trees Lounge and The Station Agent were crackin' little films which should have received rave reviews, and as for this movie, Everything Is Illuminated, we have another similar type of film as the previously mentioned titles (clever, beautiful on the eye, great natural acting and top notch directing). I simply love films that take you on a journey and you don't know what's going to happen next.

I knew very little about this film. My mate lent it me and said, "if you like Sideways and Little Miss Sunshine, you'll enjoy this!"....and he wasn't wrong.

Elijah Wood reminded me of Daniel Radcliffe playing Harry Potter with a glimpse of Toby Maguire, and the Ukraine lad (Alex, I think his character was called) spoke just like Borat, but this didn't put me off in the slightest. Together with the grandfather and the comical pet dog, Sammy Davis Jr Jr, the four go on a journey across the Ukraine countryside (and how beautiful it seems to be) to trace the past of the American's family. It's not quite "Who do you think you are?" but we learn more as the puzzle slowly unravels. The subtle message of the jewish ordeal during the war, is fantastically put across from director Schreiber, and with the mixture of comedy, superb cinematography and wonderful musical score, this is a must watch, especially if you have a decent modern LCD/plasma where the colours are truly illuminated!

If you are into road trip movies where a group of fantastically, good-looking, american teens go off on a journey of 'personal discovery' whilst getting into hilariously embarrasing situations and hi-jinx then this is definately not for you.

Where as if you actually enjoy a film which focuses not just on the difficult and delicate art of building an on screen character but also the relationships between characters who in some cases have contradictory facets to their personalities then this is a must.

There was more than enough in this film to keep me wanting to watch more and when it does finally end it is one of those films that keeps going through thought and debate.

This is a great film which I only bought because of other reviews on play. The acting is just great, as are the touches of humour. Ultimately, this is a very poignant film which, I have to admit, had me in tears. Definitely worth it.