Everything Is Illuminated (2005) on Netflix
Jonathan Safran Foer, an American Jew, travels to Ukraine seeking the woman who rescued his grandfather in the Holocaust. His guides are a cranky old man, his grandson Alex, and a dog.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.4/1061,611 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes67%
Trailer
Plot summary
A cranky grandfather, his dog Sammy Davis Jr. Jr., and his grandson Alex drive an American visitor, Jonathan Safran Foer, across western Ukraine. Jonathan has come to find Augustine, the woman who rescued his grandfather during the Holocaust; in hand he carries a photo and the name of a village. The guides work for Odesa Heritage Tours, a company that has for decades driven wealthy Americans back to their family roots. In an old car they travel through Volhynia looking for Trachimbrod, a shtetl the Nazis wiped from the map. Jonathan collects small souvenirs in plastic bags. At first indifferent, the guides take up his search once they hear what he seeks.
Cast
- Jana Hrabetovaas Jonathan's Grandmother
- Stephen Samudovskyas Jonathan's Grandfather Safran
- Oleksandr Choroshkoas Alexander Perchov, Father
- Gil Kazimirovas Igor
- Zuzana Hodkovaas Alex's Mother
- Ljubomir Dezeraas Young Jonathan
- Laryssa Lauretas Lista
- Tereza Veselkovaas Augustine
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Everything Is Illuminated (2005)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Gogol Bordello, whose lead singer Eugene Hütz plays Alex, appear as the band in the train station where Alex comes to meet his US client; the score itself features eight original tracks composed by Paul Cantelon.
- Everything Is Illuminated, adapted from the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer, was the debut film of Liev Schreiber both as a director and as a screenwriter.
- DeVotchKa's song "How It Ends" was used prominently in the film's trailer but was left off the official soundtrack album.
