ART HOUSE OFFERINGS: Everything Is Illuminated

EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED (2005)

My Rating: **** (out of *****)

Starring: Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, Boris Leskin, Laryssa Lauret
Director: Liev Schreiber

My Review:

Some movies seem great the first time you see them. With time, however, that post-theater glow fades, and subsequent viewings reveal a flawed piece of work that leads you to ponder, "What was I thinking???"

Other films provide an initial impact of "Yeah, that was a nice movie," and then, as we reflect, begin to enter into our hearts and minds, deepening the shades and colors of what we have seen to reveal something truly profound.

Everything is Illuminated, an unassuming little gem from first-time director (long-time supporting actor) Liev Schreiber, humbly takes its place among the latter type of film. Several tried and true (and sometimes tired) genres are mashed together into one singularly strange yet weirdly cohesive whole. Devastating Holocaust history, chic culture clash comedy, road-trip/buddy movie, and reflective coming-of-age drama are all interwoven to bring author Jonathan Safran Foer's semiautobiographical account to the screen.

Wood, one of today's most expressive actors, plays Jonathan as a painfully shy, obsessive-compulsive neurotic with a penchant for collecting small and sometimes unusual items by which to remember experiences and loved ones now gone (everything from dentures, to dirt, to used condoms). Even though the character is drawn as a man with extremely flat affect, Wood manages to convey volumes of emotion through his eyes and expressions. His performance is largely silent, and though subtle (except for the Clark Kent glasses and pallbearer's suit), creates a quietly soulful impact.

The plot is simple, straightforward, and requires little exposition (which is good, because very little is offered). An old photograph of Jonathan's grandfather and a mysterious woman named Augustine who helped him escape the Nazi regime prompts Jonathan to travel to the Ukraine in search of this savior. Upon arriving in Eastern Europe, Jonathan joins his tour guides, a young man obsessed with American pop culture who consistently and amusingly butchers the English language, the young man's cranky old grandfather (who drives the car but claims to be blind), and the grandfather's "seeing-eye bitch," as she is lovingly referred to, who seems to have some form of dementia.

This bizarre troupe meanders through the bleak but beautiful countryside in search of a town that no one seems to know of. Eventually, they come to a field of sunflowers with one house at the center (a sweetly haunting image), and the tone of their journey shifts dramatically from broad, bemused, slightly aloof comedy to one of somber reflection and seriousness. What the travelers find there touches each of their histories in a different way, and, as one of the film's best lines suggests: "Everything is illuminated in the light of the past."

The exposition of the film is spare (sometimes spotty), and, though there is one needlessly bewildering moment that could have benefited from a little clarification, is mostly successful. The pacing is deliberate, and as previously mentioned, the tone shifts dramatically as the film enters its final third. Several viewers will no doubt find the film off-putting.

However, there is much to savor here. One character comes to grips with who he his, with ambiguously tragic results. Another finds absolution. Themes of history, family, forgiveness, cultural identity, hope, and freedom are gently but powerfully intertwined, creating a thoughtful movie-going experience whose impact at first seems muted, but eventually takes root in the heart, producing the fruit of thoughtful reverence and gratitude.

PG-13, for language, mature thematic elements, brief violence (including a disturbing image), and some sex-related material