Everything is Illuminated

I am not starting with this movie because it is my favorite movie. I couldn't even name my top 5 movies if someone asked me to. So, don't read into the importance of the movies I post about due to their order in the blog. Anyway, onto the movie..."Everything is Illuminated".

I watched "Everything is Illuminated" last night. It is a great independent film from Warner Independent Pictures. It was directed by Liev Schreiber and starred Elijah Wood. It is a drama about a young Jewish man (Elijah Wood as Jonathan Safran Foer) who is a collector. He collects items about the members of his family. He goes on a journey to Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis during World War II. As he makes the journey through Ukraine to find the small Shtetl where his grandfather was raised and where they believe the woman who saved his grandfather still lives; Jonathan Safran Foer begins to understand more about himself and why he collects items. He also liberates his tour guide from years of guilt and helps his tour guide's family find their own roots. It is a moving story about overcoming guilt, finding yourself, and understanding your past.

This movie has some amazing scenery and some unbelievable actors. It definately pulls on the heart strings. However, Liev Schreiber mixed a sufficent amount of comedy into the movie to not make it overwhelmingly sad. Not so much comedy, though, to turn a serious subject into a joke. This movie is a winner in my book. Congrats to Liev Schreiber to have put together such an incredible movie at his first attempt at directing.

Don't forget to post what you think about this movie in the comments. If you haven't seen it yet, spend the $4.00 to rent it from the movie store.

Other info:
Jonathan Safran Foer wrote the novel that this movie was based on. He also wrote "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close".
Liev Schreiber is engaged to Naomi Watts and has two children with her.
Liev Schreiber will play Sabretooth in the new X-Men movie.
Check out Liev Schreiber in "Sum of All Fears".