This reminds me of the time I was cycle touring in Romania with a couple of German guys and ordered some vegetarian food in the only restaurant in a small village. I got served vegetable soup. The vegetable soup had tripe in it.
@kimh.8840
10 years ago
I love this movie, and this scene always has me laughing because I get that kind of reaction. "Why don't you eat meat? Isn't that unhealthy? The hell's wrong with you," haha!
I'm ukrainian. Recently I watched this movie for the second time, and I was crying like a girl. How many destinies were broken, and how many new tragic stories will be telling in future. Humanity doesn't learn lessons of past.
9,436 viewsMay 26, 2011
Everything Is Illuminated is a quirky little comedy drama, starring Elijah Wood and is written and directed by the actor Liev Schreiber, his debut in the directors chair. And what an interesting accomplishment it is too. Based on the book by American - Jewish writer Jonathon Foer, we follow, urm, American Jew Jonathon Foer, played by Elijah Wood. In the movie, he proclaims to not be a writer, but a collector, who collects in small plastic bags a vast and odd number of items that relate to his family. One such item is a photo, handed to him by his grandmother on her death bed, and one which shows his grandfather stood with a mysterious woman named Augustine, who during the holocaust saved his grandfather's life. He embarks on an adventure to the Ukraine, in search of this woman. His guides on the journey are Alex, his translater and a huge fan of the american pop culture, and his anti-Semitic grandfather, who claims to be blind. The movie starts off as more comedy than drama, and is filled with laughs of peculiar awkwardness, it could almost be categorised in the same vane as Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat, with Alex's out of date knowledge of American culture, and the perculiar behaviour of all three characters, not forgetting the inclusion of the grandfathers demented border collie, or seeing eye bitch, Sammy Davis Junior Junior. All three characters venture on a deeper journey that any of them had bargained for, and one that links them ways they never expected, forcing them to face up to truths about their past and the ever lasting effects of the atrocities of the holocaust. The cast worked well together, we felt an uncomfortable distance between their characters in the outset, and as the story progresses they take on a natural and convincing process of evolution, and it soon becomes apparent that they are linked through their past. As the movie began, I thought that Elijah Wood was going to annoy me in his role, but as the story unfolds his strange and rigid performance was completely fitting to the role. But to me it was Ukrainian actor Eugene Hutz who stole the show as the eccentric guide, who to be fair gets some brilliant lines to speak in his faltered English. There are some beautiful and interesting shots, Matthew Libatique's cinematography was inspiring, and gave the film an unnatural oil painting feel. Other notable work of his include Requiem For A Dream and more recently Black Swan. He completely bought a fresh yet gritty life to the movie, a perfect accentuation to Schreiber's artful direction. Schreiber created a steadily paced movie, with perfectly timed humorous moments acutely punctuated by the Jewish soundtrack. When the movie is funny it is very, very funny, but if I have to find fault with it then to me its that when its supposed to tug at the heart strings, I think that it fails to conjure any real emotion in the same way that other holocaust movies have in the past. I don't know why this is exactly, the theme of the holocaust is obviously brutal and traumatic, but its depiction in this movie failed to ignite any primal fear. But all in all, Everything Is Illuminated is a movie that I almost missed, and one that I am very glad that I didn't. I would highly recommend it to anyone, as it makes easy viewing, and is very entertaining. However, I must add that as the movie is set in a foreign land, there is a lot of subtitles to be read. I know that a lot of people out there will have a problem with that, which is a shame. There are so many great films out there if people would just take the time to read along.
The plot centers on a young American Jew traveling through Ukraine to trace his grandfather's past, encountering both humorous culture clashes and the tragic legacy of a WWII-era Nazi massacre of Jews in a Ukrainian village Charleston City Paper+5Wikipedia+5myUMBC+5.
So yes: it blends comedy (culture shocks) with serious drama portraying Holocaust atrocities committed in Ukraine.
D. Lu’s message is accurate:
The film is aptly described as a comedy-drama set in Ukraine, intertwining culture shocks with the Holocaust.
The historical points about Khmelnytsky, Ukrainian divisions, and the statue in Kyiv are correct and supported by historical records.
???? Bohdan (Bogdan) Khmelnytsky & Ukrainian History
Khmelnytsky (1595–1657) was a hetman (Cossack leader) who led a revolt against Polish rule (1648–1654), later aligning with Russia via the 1654 Treaty of Pereiaslav GPSmyCity+3Wikipedia+3Stanford University Press+3.
Thus, Khmelnytsky’s actions vividly illustrate the longstanding tensions between “Russian” and “Polish” spheres of influence in Ukrainian lands. The statue commemorates him but also embodies deep historical wounds.
Since you addressed your post to me (I think), I will reply with a note
regarding your topics of terrible things, movies, fictions, and Ukraine.
The movie Everything Is Illuminated (2005) is a comedy and drama
about an American who visits Ukraine to learn about his grandfather.
The comedy is mostly about cultural differences, while the drama is
about massacre of Jews by Nazis. The movie is a work of fiction,
but the portrayal at the personal level is both moving and disturbing.
(Websites are responsibility and property of site owners or designees.)
Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
"Everything Is Illuminated (2005) Official Trailer - Elijah Wood, Liev Schreiber Movie HD" www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI0dbx2qiHg
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-18-2025 17:06
From: Philipp Kornreich
Subject: Another try at at another party in the US
14 July 2025
Dr. Lu, Dr. Verret, Dr. Capone, and All Sigma Xi Colleagues
Yes, i wrote this 4 days ago.
People act very differently when they act independently as individuals than when the same people act as part of a herd. The same people will commit terrible things when in a herd of people. Also, people will give different answers to surveyors when questioned in an isolated location than when in company of co-herd members.
On a different topic. Kiev used to be the Russ' capital. Since at least about 400 years there were two Unchains. There was/is a "Russian" Ukraine and there was/is a "Polish" Ukraine. And those have been fighting each other for about 400 years until today. A good illustration is the movie "Bogdan Khmelnitski".Bogdan Khmelnitsky was a real Kosakh chief fighting the Polish Ukrain. There is a statue to Bogdan Khmelnitski I Kiev.
Nikolay Gogol's book "Taras Bulba" (Taras Potato) the story of a 18's century Kosakh Chieftain and his sons is of course fiction, But it too describes the fight between the Russian and Polish Ukraine.
For about 300 years were the Don Kosakhs the Czars personal guards.
