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Everything Is Illuminated

Play trailer Poster for Everything Is Illuminated PG-13 2005 1h 46m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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65% Tomatometer 116 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
A young Jewish-American man obsessed with his family history, Jonathan Safran Foer decides to journey to Ukraine to find out more about the life of his grandfather. Guided by Alex, a rap-obsessed local, Jonathan ventures into the heartland of Ukraine seeking to shed light on events that occurred to his grandfather during World War II. Joining Jonathan and Alex is the latter's surly grandfather and a dog named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.
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Everything Is Illuminated

Everything Is Illuminated

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Critics Consensus

Although it excises much from its famously dense source material, Everything is Illuminated is a quirky, ambitious debut film from Liev Schreiber.

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Critics Reviews

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Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle 10/22/2005
2.5/5
Nevertheless, Everything Is Illuminated has a haunting afterglow, one that neither satisfies nor illuminates, but at least keeps the flame alive. Go to Full Review Amy Biancolli Houston Chronicle 10/08/2005
3.5/4
It's profound in the way that life is profound in hindsight, its view of the past both fixed in history and mutable in the telling. And it's exquisitely tender. Go to Full Review Eleanor Ringel Cater Atlanta Journal-Constitution 10/02/2005
C
This isn't a frivolous film or a dumb one. Mostly, it feels like a mistake -- the wrong director matched with the wrong material. Go to Full Review Stefan Pape Common Sense Media 03/04/2025
While Schreiber shows promise behind the camera, the competing tones never quite harmonize into a satisfying whole. Go to Full Review Felicia Feaster Creative Loafing 02/03/2020
Rather than aiming to please, the film expects a certain patience on the viewer's part as it ambles and slowly shifts from an often forced quirkiness to a bone-deep melancholy. That change of tack proves worth waiting for. Go to Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 04/15/2009
C-
The lamentable influence of Dave Eggers' oh-so-precious post modern literary devices from "A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius" (2000) are glued all over a bullet proof piece of magical realism... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Bill G. @BillGibson79 Mar 14 Great! Cinematography, casting, acting, originality, just everything! See more Jennifer B @RT90024712 Nov 2 I can't agree with most reviews here. This movie was brilliant. A journey to the past, Jonathon believed he was discovering his family but Alex gained much more. See more Rich S @RPS1963 12/21/2024 Liev Schreiber's directorial debut is a whimsical, almost fantasy-like journey into the past. It's unique. Some would say odd. And some would say it's not even appropriate. Too soon, maybe? But it will never be "not too soon." It lives on and we deal with it the best way we know how. And how one person handles something like the Holocaust is not universally suitable for the masses. For a couple of hours, though, you can watch "Everything Is Illuminated" and see three interwoven stories that touch on the horrible events of the past. You will chuckle and maybe laugh out loud. But always, just as in life, the atrocities are going to be right there, just out of our sight in the darkness. See more Riccardo D @RickDB 03/04/2024 Absolutely beautiful and deep. Worth watching. Fun and moving at the same time. See more g j @RT02395222 10/27/2023 Wryly funny and heart-wrenchingly sad. A truly beautiful film. See more 03/24/2022 ONe of my favorite's movie so far See more Read all reviews
Everything Is Illuminated

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Cast & Crew

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Liev Schreiber

Director

Elijah Wood

Jonathan

Eugene Hutz

Alex

Boris Leskin

Alex's Grandfather

Laryssa Lauret

Lista

Jonathan Safran Foer

Leaf Blower

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Everything Is Illuminated

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Movie Info

Synopsis A young Jewish-American man obsessed with his family history, Jonathan Safran Foer decides to journey to Ukraine to find out more about the life of his grandfather. Guided by Alex, a rap-obsessed local, Jonathan ventures into the heartland of Ukraine seeking to shed light on events that occurred to his grandfather during World War II. Joining Jonathan and Alex is the latter's surly grandfather and a dog named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.
Director
Liev Schreiber
Producer
Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf
Screenwriter
Liev Schreiber
Distributor
Warner Independent
Production Co
Telegraph Films, Stillking Films, Big Beach Films, Warner Independent Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Language|Disturbing Images/Violence|Sexual Content)
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 16, 2005, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 2, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.7M
Runtime
1h 46m
Sound Mix
Surround