Everything is Illuminated
(Liev Schreiber, 2005)
Adapted from Jonathan Safran Foer's best selling book, Everything is Illuminated is both a funny, quirky, and thought-provoking film. The main story is a grimly familiar one - A young Jewish American--Jonathan Safran Foer--travels to the Ukraine in the hope of finding the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He is aided in his search by Alex Perchov, a naïve Ukrainian translator, Alex's grandfather (also called Alex), and the grandfather's deranged dog, named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. He has only a photograph and the name of a village. Will they find the village? This directorial debut by Liv Schreiber will leave you smiling and, most likely, scratching your head just a little bit.
ASSIGNMENT: How does the past illuminate everything? Consider both the film and your thoughts on life in response to this question. 200 words
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ReplyDeleteThe past truly does illuminate everything. Each and every decision a person makes; or doesn't make; will cause some future event to unfold. If a person were to eat a large breakfast, rather than skip it, they wouldn't eat that large three course lunch. But if they had not eaten breakfast, they would pig out later on. That's just one small thing, but even a small decision like that could be life changing. What if the lunch or the breakfast gave the person food poisoning, or even a rare disease that killed them? Although that's highly unlikely, past events will always control, illuminate the future. In the film, Johnathan goes to the Ukraine to find his grandfathers past. If his grandfather had not been in the Ukraine or wasn't dead, everything would change and be illuminated differently. It's like the butterfly effect, if you kill a butterfly (such a small and seemingly insignificant creature) a life, or even thousands, could be saved or killed. The chain of the past illuminates the future to what it is, and what it will be.
ReplyDeleteIn this film, as well as in life, the past remarkably illuminates everything. Every decision that is made in life affects what happens in the future. For instance, by studying for an exam, you will most likely get your desired grade. However, if you don’t study, then you will most likely get a bad mark. This example is just a small example of how the past illuminates everything. In the film, Everything is Illuminated, the main character Jonathan travels to Ukraine to encounter the woman who saved his Grandfather’s life. This woman connects with many significant people that Jonathan encounters with. His tour guides Alex and his Grandfather, all share somewhat similar pasts which illuminate the future. This effect illuminates the past as well as the future and ties everyone’s story together. Overall, who you are and what you do in the past truly affects other people and illuminates their future.
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