The Doctor's Movie Prescriptions-Everything is Illuminated

[Dr_Mayus]

For 9 years I worked for Blockbuster and over that time I became known as the "foreign guy" because I was the employee that actually watched small budget, obscure, old or foreign movies. This actually became a great asset though as I would have customers, who shared my taste, seek me out to ask my opinion on things and thus I had a something separating me from the other employees. My love of film eventually led me to Film School where I gained a whole new appreciation for the world of cinema and helped me expand my taste in film.

 

I really miss working being "the foreign guy" so I decided to start this new series where I will recommend interesting films to the users of this forums and hopefully introduce some people here to some very unique and exciting films they may not have seen before. You may not like everything I recommend but trust me there is something in my collection that you will probably enjoy .

 

So without further ado check out the trailer to my first movie

 

 

 

Why Should You Watch This

 

Right now Ukraine is a hot topic and as a Ukrainian what is happening over there scares the crap out of me. I still have lots of family and friends that are getting worried because the fighting is getting close and they don't know what the future holds. This is why I feel this is a good movie to start this all off.

 

Everything is Illuminated is probably the best film about Ukraine and is an excellent mixture of both comedy and drama. If anyone has seen a film like Life is Beautiful (don't worry it is coming) then they will understand where I am coming from when I say that. This movie is VERY funny, from the characters, to the unique setting and especially the dialog but it all of a sudden hits you with what is really going on and you need to take a step back as you find yourself in a very real and sad situation. This is something that a lot of films/shows/games forget about. You cannot just have constant sad situations as the audience becomes used to it. The same goes for a horror film, if there is constant jump scares with no atmosphere you might get a reaction out of the audience but it won't last more than a couple of seconds. Instead you need to build up the emotions over the course of the film and then when you finally hit the audience with the change in tone it resonates even louder and stays with them longer.

 

This was the first and only film written and directed by Liev Schreiber (yes Sabretooth) and I have to say I am very disappointed he hasn't done anything else. The film is beautifully shot, excellently paced and tells the story in such a personal and meaningful way that it makes it accessible to anyone.

 

The Plot

The movie is based off of the best selling book of the same name and stays more or less faithful to the original story. Elijah Wood is playing Jonathan Safran Foer who is actually the author of the book. He plays a collector of mementos and when given a photograph by his dying grandmother he decides to set off to Ukraine to thank the woman in the picture who had saved his Grandfather during WW2. When he arrives in Ukraine he is met by his translator Alex (played by the singer for Gogol Bordello, Eugene Hutz), Alex's grandfather/driver (played by Boris Leskin) and the grandfather's Seeing Eye Bitch, Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. .

 

The four of them set out across Ukraine to find Trachimbrod (the village where Augustine lived) and along the way they all begin to understand different truths about themselves and each other.

 

The Characters

The interaction between these characters is what makes this movie stand out. For the majority of the film you are trapped in a car with these 4 and because of the confined space you begin to imagine yourself being there with them.

 

Jonathan Safran Foer is meek, mild mannered and a vegetarian which is in complete contrast to the loud and robust nature of Alex. This is all played very nicely next to the Grandfather who is a very curmudgeonly old-man who hates Jews (which provides for some heated nature between him and Jonathan). Finally despite Jonathan's crippling fear of dogs he is sat next to Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. who is...well kind of deranged

 

 

This fantastic mixture of personalities, bigotry, culture and phobias gives the film a very heated dynamic that you don't get in most films. There is no one dimensional characters here and over the course of the film they just become more layered as we learn more about them.

 

Conclusion

 

I have said it many times but this is a fantastic film and really has something for everyone. The film just works on all levels and it is a shame it wasn't a larger financial success. Personally this film speaks to me a lot as well as I had family that were taken away by the Nazis and whose village was burned to the ground. I was able to go back to my families village and stand where my gido's house was,visit the graveyard and explore his old school.

 

Me and my family at my Gido's favourite river

 

For more suggestions on great films to watch you can check out my other reviews.

Pi

Edited March 15, 2014 by Dr_Mayus

[Ala-Arska]

Nice to see a kindred spirit, I've always considered this an underrated gem.

I love "foreign movies" myself, they have far more to tell story-wise and visually than all the Transformers combined 

 

Keep those reviews coming, knowing at least one of us members has time and interest to read them 

[Dr_Mayus]

Only 1 response Hopefully the next suggestion goes better

[dodgedoors]

I really loved this movie, and I was a blockbuster employee as well.  At least 3 of my 5 free movies were always indie and obscure new films. It is how I caught great movies like this and Primer (Top 5 movie of 2000's)

[Dr_Mayus]

I really loved this movie, and I was a blockbuster employee as well.  At least 3 of my 5 free movies were always indie and obscure new films. It is how I caught great movies like this and Primer (Top 5 movie of 2000's)

Blockbuster ..wait you guys only got 5? We had 10 free movies/games a week

 

I haven't seen Primer I will check it out

[dodgedoors]

Blockbuster ..wait you guys only got 5? We had 10 free movies/games a week

 

I haven't seen Primer I will check it out

 

It is an amazing movie.  It is the thinking man's time travel movie.  It was done on a tiny budget and The director/main character's mom ran craft services. But the writing and acting in this is top notch.

[Dr_Mayus]

It is an amazing movie.  It is the thinking man's time travel movie.  It was done on a tiny budget and The director/main character's mom ran craft services. But the writing and acting in this is top notch.

I love small budget stories like that . The film I just reviewed, Pi, had scenes where they had to stop filming because the cops came and they didn't have permits. So they just ran away

Edited March 15, 2014 by Dr_Mayus

[STRANGEgenius]

Hells yes. Great thread.

 

I always downloaded indie films cause they were usually better. Some amazing ones from the top of my head [Martyrs, The Kid, Hachiko]

 

And i study film as well, does make me appreciate movies more, but nowadays i also movies 'differently' haha.