As the odd trio travels through the countryside, each becomes more able to see things they couldn’t see before.Ī collage of humorous and poignant moments, this film takes the fictional work (by the same name) of real life author Jonathan Foer, and extracts its core concepts to form the plot of this unusual road trip movie. The only word he does understand, which is most often spoken by the grandfather, is “Jew.” Sensing the motivation behind the family run micro-tour business is the lucrative possibilities of a rich Jewish American clientele, the young foreigner also begins to suspect the old man harbors anti-Semitic feelings-a conclusion even Alex is beginning to consider. Huddled together in the tiny vehicle (for what seems like days), the lack of communication leaves Jonathan listening to the two Ukrainians exchanging what often sounds like heated remarks. The next is the barely roadworthy car, driven by Alex’s sight-impaired grandfather (Boris Leskin), in which he is expected to share the backseat with a cranky dog named Sammy Davis Junior Junior. His first clue is his translator Alex (Eugene Hutz), a guy with broken English who still lives in the disco era. Only minutes after his arrival, he detects he may have been deceived. So Jonathan books a trip to his Ukrainian homeland, and contracts the services of a supposedly professional guide company that specializes in helping Jews research their dead ancestors. An old photograph of a woman, who supposedly played a role in saving his grandfather’s life from the hands of Nazi soldiers, especially heightens his curiosity. Now, with the death of his grandmother, he yearns to know more about his family. In their stead, he keeps a collection of their personal effects-dentures, wish bones from a family dinner, plane tickets, recordings, even a condom-in a series of little Ziploc bags. Over the years, he has witnessed many of his relatives pass away. Jonathan Foer (Elijah Wood) is a compulsive collector.

Everything is illuminated book review