Everything Is Illuminated (2005)

Director:

Liev Schreiber

Writers (WGA):

Jonathan Safran Foer (novel)
Liev Schreiber (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Leave Normal Behind.

Plot:

A young Jewish American man endeavors to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II in a Ukrainian village, that was ultimately razed by the Nazis, with the help of a local who speaks weirdly funny broken English.

Plot Keywords:

Ukraine | Jewish American | Car | Plastic Bag | Dog

Awards:

7 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Eugene Hutz	...	Alex
Elijah Wood	...	Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer	...	Leaf Blower
Jana Hrabetova	...	Jonathan's Grandmother
Stephen Samudovsky	...	Jonathan's Grandfather Safran
Ljubomir Dezera	...	Young Jonathan
Oleksandr Choroshko	...	Alexander Perchov, Father
Gil Kazimirov	...	Igor
Zuzana Hodkova	...	Alex's Mother
Mikki	...	Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.
Mouse	...	Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.
Boris Leskin	...	Grandfather
Robert Chytil	...	Breakdancer
Jaroslava Sochova	...	Woman on Train
Sergei Ryabtsev	...	Ukrainian Band Member (as Sergej Rjabcev)
Yuri Lemeshev	...	Ukrainian Band Member (as Jurij Lemeshev)
Pamela Racine	...	Ukrainian Band Member
Oleksandr Houtz	...	Ukrainian Band Member
Ludmila Kartouska	...	Hotel Waitress
Igor Latta	...	Old Man at Fair
Eugenin Marandic	...	Fair Goer
Orest Tkachuk	...	Fair Goer (as Orest Tkachyk)
Elias Zerael Bauer	...	Goatherder Boy
Jurij Kokyrc	...	Well Digger
Sergej Kapitan	...	Well Digger
Jaroslav Jurichkanc	...	Well Digger
Igor Savivskij	...	Well Digger
Jan Pavel Filipensky	...	Well Digger
Bert Schneider	...	Nazi Officer
Tereza Veselkova	...	Augustine
Laryssa Lauret	...	Lista
Lukas Kral	...	Young Grandfather, Baruch
Vera Sindelarova	...	Young Lista

Directed by
Liev Schreiber

Writing credits (WGA)
Jonathan Safran Foer		(novel)
Liev Schreiber		(screenplay)

Produced by
Kelley Cribben	....	associate producer
Tom Karnowski	....	co-producer
David Minkowski	....	co-producer
Peter Saraf	....	producer
Matthew Stillman	....	executive producer
Marc Turtletaub	....	producer

Original Music by
Paul Cantelon

Cinematography by
Matthew Libatique

Film Editing by
Andrew Marcus
Craig McKay

Casting by
Avy Kaufman

Production Design by
Mark Geraghty

Art Direction by
Martin Vackar

Costume Design by
Michael Clancy

Makeup Department
Georgina Abanto	....	key hair stylist
Georgina Abanto	....	key makeup artist
Tomás Kuchta	....	special makeup
Veronika Riehs	....	makeup assistant
Lucie Vybiralova	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Kelley Cribben	....	post-production supervisor
Tom Karnowski	....	unit production manager
Ravi D. Mehta	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jakub Dvorak	....	second assistant director
Helena Frankova	....	second second assistant director
Jude Gorjanc	....	first assistant director: New York
Jan Mensik	....	first assistant director
Maggie Murphy	....	first assistant director
Kieron Phipps	....	first assistant director (as Kieron A. Phipps)
Amanda Taylor	....	key second assistant director: New York

Art Department
Kasia Adamik	....	storyboard artist
Elizabeth Colomba	....	storyboard artist
Jiri Fleischer	....	property master
Stanislav Suva	....	scenic artist
Michal Svoboda	....	set dresser
Petra Trachtmanova	....	co-set decorator
Kurt Van Der Basch	....	storyboard artist (as Kurt van der Basch)
David Vondrasek	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Dave Bihldorff	....	sound re-recordist
Rick Chefalas	....	first assistant sound editor
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Kenna Doeringer	....	adr editor
Tom Fleischman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Petr Forejt	....	production sound mixer
Lawrence Herman	....	sound editorial intern
Bobby Johanson	....	adr mixer
Branka Mrkic	....	dialogue editor (as Branka Mrkic-Tana)
Igor Nikolic	....	assistant sound editor
Sarah Jean Porter	....	apprentice sound editor (as Sarah Porter)
Roman Rigo	....	boom operator
Wyatt Sprague	....	sound effects editor
Paul Urmson	....	sound designer
Paul Urmson	....	supervising sound editor
Steven Visscher	....	supervising foley editor (as Steve Visscher)
Deborah Wallach	....	adr supervisor

Special Effects by
Jirí Vojtech	....	special effects crew

Visual Effects by
Roland Friedrich	....	Inferno artist
Miro Gal	....	Inferno artist
Maros Kesjar	....	compositor
Helena Keslova	....	Flame artist
Vladimir Koller	....	compositor
Vít Komrzý	....	visual effects producer
Robert Loudil	....	compositor
Zdenek Machuta	....	compositor
Jay Mallet	....	motion control cameraman
Vladimír Matousek	....	compositor
Robert Pik	....	Inferno artist
Robert Pik	....	compositor
Jim Rider	....	motion control cameraman
Jirí Sabata	....	Flame artist
Amit Sethi	....	digital artist: titles
Rasto Simocko	....	Flame artist
Jiri Stamfest	....	matte artist
Mike Trinker	....	digital intermediate editor
David Vána	....	visual effects supervisor
Jan Vseticek	....	visual effects coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Václav Cermak	....	gaffer
Milan Chadima	....	director of photography: second unit
Lamont Crawford	....	key grip: New York
Magela Crosignani	....	camera operator
Neil Davidson	....	still photographer
Ingo Gardner	....	balloon light technician
Jiri Gazda	....	dolly grip
Ivo Gresak	....	key grip
Jarda Hromadka	....	best boy
Ladislav Hruby	....	first assistant camera
Vaclav Kares	....	camera loader
Viktor Lonek	....	video assist operator
John J. Moers	....	director of photography: documentary crew
Frantisek Novák	....	first assistant camera
Miroslav Pavlik	....	second assistant camera

Animation Department
J. John Corbett	....	animator: titles

Casting Department
Nancy Bishop	....	casting: Prague
Max Bollinger	....	casting: Russia, Ukraine
Jessica Daniels	....	casting associate
Jirí Hrstka	....	extras casting
Noelle Trkulja	....	casting assistant: Prague

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gabriela Horská	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Ernest Leif Boyd	....	assistant editor
John Crowley	....	digital intermediate colorist
Kate Eales	....	associate editor
Conor Guy	....	assistant editor
Attila Kovacs	....	assistant editor
Beth Moran	....	assistant editor
Matthew Reedy	....	digital intermediate producer
Corey Stewart	....	digital intermediate engineer
Franklin Vargas	....	digital colorist assist (as Frankie Vargas)

Music Department
Nancy Allen	....	music editor
John Carbonara	....	assistant music editor
Gary Chester	....	music engineer
Gary Chester	....	score mixer
Brian Deming	....	additional music mixer
Tony Finno	....	music preparation
Eric V. Hachikian	....	assistant orchestrator (as Eric Hachikian)
Susan Jacobs	....	music supervisor
Richard King	....	additional music mixer
Wolfram Koessel	....	music contractor
Sonny Kompanek	....	orchestrator
Annette Kudrak	....	additional music editor
Jack Livesey	....	composer: additional music
Suzana Peric	....	music editor
Matt Rocker	....	music programing: score
Seth Rothschild	....	assistant music supervisor
Derek Somaru	....	apprentice music editor (as Derek P. Somaru)
Ted Sperling	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Jiri Fleischer	....	picture cars coordinator
Silvie Janculová	....	unit transportation coordinator
Pavel Voracek	....	unit transportation coordinator

Other crew
Judy Aley	....	researcher: archival photos (as Judith Aley)
David Allsberry	....	assistant animal trainer
Randall Balsmeyer	....	title designer (as Randy Balsmeyer)
Lauren Barnhart	....	assistant to director
George Bunce	....	2K conform
Mandy Butler	....	production accountant
Emma Cooper	....	unit publicist
J. John Corbett	....	title designer
William Cusick	....	intern
Jennifer Zolten Freed	....	post-production accountant
Lubomir Janci	....	stand-in: Young Grandfather
Vladimir Kesl	....	computer technician
Tomas Kreisl	....	cashier
Yana Collins Lehman	....	post-production accountant
Sandy Lizaola-Hernandez	....	physical production coordinator
Boone Narr	....	animal trainer
Zack Neuman	....	office intern
Lenka Pavlakova	....	assistant production coordinator
Nada Pinter	....	script supervisor
Sara Pollack	....	assistant to producer
Victor Quinaz	....	assistant to the director: Liev Schreiber
Justin Ritson	....	key production assistant: New York unit
Lucie Ryan	....	assistant to director
Justin Hamilton Salem	....	key set production assistant
Julie Sevach	....	title producer
Katerina Silna	....	production coordinator
Petr Skvor	....	location manager
Jiri Tichacek	....	production accountant: Czech Republic
Goran Uljanic	....	assistant production coordinator
Peter Ziak	....	assistant accountant

Production Companies

• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)
• Telegraph Films
• Big Beach Films
• Stillking Films

Distributors

• Fox-Warner (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Universal Production Partners (UPP) (visual effects) (as UPP Prague)

Other Companies

• Arri Rental  camera equipment provided by
• Arri Rental  grip and lighting equipment
• Big Film Design  special photography
• Big Film Design  title design
• Blue Sky Stock Footage  stock footage courtesy of
• C5  sound editing services (as C-5)
• CE VideoAssist Rental  VideoAssist equipment provided by
• Digital Playground  stock footage courtesy of
• EXTRAfilms S.r.o.  extras casting
• Film Laboratory Barrandov  film laboratory (as Barrandov Studios, Prague)
• Getty Images  stock footage courtesy of
• Library of Congress  archival photographs courtesy of
• Macwell  computer services provided by
• Post Factory NY  post-production facilities
• Postworks New York  digital intermediate
• Sound One Corporation  adr recording facility (as Sound One Corp.)
• Soundtrack F/T  sound re-recording facility (as Soundtrack F/T NY)
• Stillking Films  production services
• TVT Soundtrax  soundtrack
• Technicolor  color
• Trevanna Post  post-production accounting
• Universal Production Partners (UPP)  2K spirit scan (as UPP Prague)

Also Known As:

The Collector (USA) (pre-release title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images/violence, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian | Ukrainian

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby | SDDS

Certification:

UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Brazil:14 | Mexico:B15 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:12 | Finland:K-11 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41916) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Lvov, Ukraine

Company:

Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)

Trivia:

Eugene Hutz's band Gogol Bordello appears as the polka band that greets Elijah Wood at the train station.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Francis Scott Key is credited for the "Star Spangled Banner". The composer, John Stafford Smith (1750-1836), should have been given credit rather than Key who was the lyricist. In the movie, the performance is played by a band and no lyrics are heard.

Quotes:

Grandfather: [in Ukrainian]
[to Jonathan]
Grandfather: Get in the car. The bitch and the Jew will share the backseat.

Movie Connections:

References Sin City (2005)

Soundtrack:

Amari Szi, Amari

A Sentimental Road Trip ThroughThe Impact of Eastern European History

"Everything is Illuminated" is a simplified interpretation of something more than half of the Jonathan Safran Foer novel. This version is more about changes in Eastern Europe from World War II through post-Cold War and how the younger generation relates to that history as a family memory.

Debut director/adapter Liev Schreiber retains some of the humor and language clashes of the novel, mostly through the marvelous Eugene Hutz as the U.S.-beguiled Ukrainian tour guide. He is so eye-catching that the film becomes more his odyssey into his country and his family as he goes from his comfortable milieu in sophisticated Odessa to the heart of a cynical, isolated land that has been ravaged by conquerors through the Communists and now capitalists, with both Jews and non-Jews as detritus. As funny as his opening scenes are when he establishes his cheeky bravura, we later feel his fish-out-of-waterness in his own country when he tries to ask directions of local yokels.

Shreiber uses Elijah Wood, as the American tourist, as an up tight cog in a visual panoply, as his character is less verbal than as one of the narrators in the book. He and Hutz play off each other well until the conclusion that becomes more sentimental in this streamlined plot. Once the grandfather's story takes over in the last quarter of the film, marvelously and unpredictably enacted by Boris Leskin, the younger generation does not seem to undergo any catharsis, as they just tidy up the closure.

Schreiber does a wonderful job visualizing the human urge to document history. One of his consultants in the credits is Professor Yaffa Eliach and her style of remembering pre-Holocaust shtetl life through artifacts clearly inspired the look and it is very powerful and effective.

The Czech Republic stands in for the Ukraine and the production design staff were able to find memorable symbols of change in the cities, towns and countryside, as this is now primarily a road movie, and the long driving scenes do drag a bit. Schreiber retains some of the symbolism from the book, particularly of the moon and river, but having cut out the portions of the book that explain those, they just look pretty or ominous for atmosphere and no longer represent time and fate.

As W.C. Fields would have predicted, the dog steals most of his scenes for easy laughs. In general, Schreiber does go for more poignancy than the book. It is irresistibly touching, especially for those who haven't read the book, but less morally and emotionally messy.

The film is enormously uplifted by its marvelous soundtrack, which ranges from songs and instrumentals from Hutz's gypsy band to traditional tunes to contemporary tracks to Paul Cantelon's klezmer fusion score.

This is not a Holocaust film per se, being a kind of mirror image of "The Train of Life (Train de vie)" as about memory of a time that is freighted with meaning now, but will resonate more with those who have an emotional connection to that history.