Review of Everything Is Illuminated (2005) by Adrianne H — 08 Nov 2012

This movie is kind of a hybrid between Borat and The Striped Pyjamas. Elijah Woods' acting consists of long, wide-eyed blank stares, interrupted occasionally by naive and disingenuous remarks or questions about his surroundings.

The significance of his character's Jewish roots or the motivations for his actions are murky at best, despite the sentimental opening and brief dip into his childhood and feelings for his grandparents.

In this regard, he is more of an "accidental tourist" in Ukraine than a seeker. His interpreter cum guide, Alex, displays a bit more humanity as he slowly - through at-times terrible Borat-like speech - comes to realize that history started before he was born.

Despite that, there is a genuine sense of awareness that emanates from him as he realizes that his grandfather's story is more complicated than he had ever imagined. The grandfather himself is a surly character who appears to have something to hide -- something that is only revealed in the last few minutes of the film.

Finally, the film challenged my willingness to suspend disbelief beyond its limits. I was ready to accept the inconsistencies of the story until the moment when the unintended heroine of the piece, living in the middle of Ukraine, asks "Tell me, please.

Is the war (WWII) over?" Anyone with minimal knowledge of Ukraine and its Soviet history would realize the impossibility of that question. At this point, all my previous doubts about the film were confirmed: it is trying too hard to weave together inexplicable innocence with inexplicable guilt.

There are many excellent films about the experiences of Jews and Gentiles during and after the War. This film isn'e one of them.