1. NhungL.

   10

   The movie is soooooo brilliant - it really touches my emotions without using sentimental scenes and language. Its pace is slow with soft music, which gives me a feeling of sadness and gloominess. At first, I was amused by Alex's family, but then deeply absolved in their serious and mysterious adventure. The movie achieves a lot without telling too much, just silence, music and beautiful scene. The view of the woman's house in the middle of a sunflower field is soooo fanciful. Those who think that Jonathan's trip ends up nowhere should rewatch the movie. In the end, Jonathan finds Trachimbrod and gains much more - not just lost family memories.… Expand

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2. AutiTakahashi

   8

   "Everything is Illuminated" is a movie about memories and the things that certain people do with them. Some treasure each memory with zeal and optimism; others spend a lifetime filtering every dark moment with a hope of never having to suffer in remembrance of it. So many things can happen to us, both good and bad, and it's not unusual to occasionally wish that we can control our ability to remember, and forget.
   
   Elijah Wood stars as Jonathan, a Jewish-American who is about to travel to Ukraine in search of the woman who saved his grandfather's life during the Second World War. His eyes are magnified by his thick glasses and his hair is cautiously combed, which rightfully matches his black suite. Our first impression of Jonathan is a man who is curious and disciplined. We are even hinted that he has an obsessive-compulsive nature the first time we see a wall in his home almost completely covered with plastic bags containing items that is there to simply remind him.
   
   While Jonathan is yet to arrive, we are introduced to a Ukrainian family whose business is to help Jews find the place where their ancestors have perished. This is where the movie suddenly adapts a comedic tone. The eldest son is Alex, who is the film's narrator. His skills in English are lacking in an appealing way. He claims to be a "premium" dancer, and is not very excited to learn that he must accompany his grandfather in "the commencement of a very rigid search." Because Grandfather, the designated driver of the search, claims to be blind, they bring along Sammy Davis Junior Jr. He is the official "seeing eye **** I kinda love these guys.
   
   Read more here: http://localmoviereview.com/everything-is-illuminated/… Expand

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3. SeanD.

   7

   I just saw this for the first time - I didn't really know what it was about beforehand or have any expectations, but I had held an interest for a while. The biggest thing I can say about it is that if it doesn't go anywhere (good) it's at least a beautiful ride. Reminded me a lot of "The Science Of Sleep". The scenery/cinematography are beautiful, Alex is very funny, "Jonfen" (Elijah Wood) is attractive as a square. One of the biggest criticisms seems to be that it doesn't carry the gravitas of the Holocaust very well, but I don't think that was necessarily the point (of the film.) It's easy to be depressed by the the history, rightfully so, but the intent seemed to be remembering. If it didn't have the best point, it was nonetheless a very enjoyable ride.… Expand

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4. Jan

   3

   It's so painfully boring. The Director should be looking for better scripts than overload the movie watching time with the same old behavioral fatique of dysfunctional characters seen in so many of today's films. Not to say least that Elijah Wood's extraordinary set of eyes needed patching with a pair of "magnifying" glasses to draw the viwers' attention. After this film, the poor lad will be remembered as a dead square, dolled up with a face set to look like a shining porcelain cartoon puppet.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.

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