Everything is Illuminated (Liev Schreiber)

Liev Schreiber, Eugene Hutz and Elijah Wood


Wood and Hutz


Schreiber and Wood


Wood and Hutz

This is a excellent debut film from actor Schreiber. He has an obvious love and affinity for the material. Schreiber was inspired to learn more about his cultural history after the death of his grandfather, much like the central character in the film. Wood's charcter travels to Odessa in the Ukraine to learn about his ancestors. He hooks up with a pair of somewhat incompetent and unwilling tour guides. Hutz, who is the lead singer/songwriter of the gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello (see his t-shirt above), is the translater for the journey. His English is comically inept. Hutz's character's grandfather is the driver for the trip. The old man says little except to complain and or retort Wood's assertions. Their journey is comical and touching and reveletory to all three involved. This is based on a well loved book, the scope of which was much larger according to Schreiber, limited as he was by budget. Everything is Illiminated is about history and memory. About legacies, preserving the past and confronting it. It's an emotional journey and a personal one for the filmmaker.