Everything is Illuminated

Everything is Illuminated ****1/2

Trailer
We just watched this movie, starring Elijah Wood and some other actors who did a great job. Elijah wood plays a young Jewish man whose grandparents came to America during WWII. His grandmother gives him a photo of his Grandfather holding a woman he has never seen before and tells him that his grandfather would have wanted him to have it. She tells him that the woman in the picture is the reason that grandfather made it to America. He decides to go to Ukraine and see if he can find her, to thank her for everything. He hires a tour guide and a translator. The movie is the story of what happens as they search for this woman. It was powerful, a reminder that our forebears often went through things we may never understand. We experienced the whole spectrum of emotion, from laughing to sad, to sentimental and nostalgic. There was some cursing, which is why we gave it a 4.5 stars and not 5, but even then the cursing was by the Ukrainian who couldn't speak english very well, often making it more humorous than offensive. It was good, we finished it feeling very good. Very well made.