A "Must See" movie is coming! - Russian Ukrainian Belarus Travel Music Woman Dating News

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A "Must See" movie is coming!
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Posted by: Cheburashka

I was absolutely blown away by the movie "Everything Is Illuminated", and saw it twice in the theaters. It stars Elijah Wood and a host of amazing Ukrainian actors. It is shot almost entirely in Ukraine. The story is awesome, the scenery is familiar to many here, and those who are older will be thinking about this for some time to come. It should be hitting home video on Feb 28th. Don't miss it, especially if you can still catch it now in theaters that show indie films.

http://wip.warnerbros.com/everythingisilluminated/

Posted by: Pin Boy

thanks cheb...checked out the link and i will make it a point to rent it...how bout a favor, post about this again closer to the release date...feb 28th, correct?

pin boy

Posted by: Cheburashka

Thread Bump because it is out for rental now. If you love Ukraine, this movie will make you smile for the first hour. Then it takes an interesting turn and become serous story telling for the second hour. If you speak Russian well you will catch mistakes in some of the translation in the subtitles.

Posted by: Pin Boy

thanks cheb...i'm homebound for a few days - shoulder operation - so i'm in movie viewing, cd burning, and RMP mode

Posted by: Pietrr

there's already another topic.

Posted by: That1Guy

We both liked the movie, but when the grandfather does his thing - I didn't really understand why, and Tatiana exclaimed, "Why are all these movies the same???...It's stupid!!" Now I get a lot of, "My grandfather says it is impossible."

)

Posted by: Cheburashka

Quote:

Originally Posted by That1Guy

Now I get a lot of, "My grandfather says it is impossible."

What is impossible Guy, the fact that there was antisemitism in Ukraine during the war? Or the fact that someone who finally made peace with his past after being tortured for 60 years would want to end his life? I don't understand what Tatiana found to be so unbelievable.

Posted by: That1Guy

The "My grandfather says it is impossible." is actually a joke. Remember the intentional mistranslation?

I don't think she was saying that anything was unbelievable, but she didn't like it when the grandfather killed himself. Frankly, I do not fully understand why this ruined the movie for her, but I remember she said, "Russian movies are so..." and she could not find the English words to complete the thought. I was going to return the movie, but she said, "Maybe I will watch it again."

So, it wasn't all that bad huh....

I really liked the movie, and thought the reason for his suicide might have been that he was ashamed of denying his spiritualism for most of his adult life. I could not understand why he did it really. If he was at peace, why would he want to die? He still had living family that cared about him, so why cause them the trauma? Tatiana is fond of comedies, and the first half of this movie had very many funny moments. Maybe it is just her taste that turned her off during the second half. We'll probably watch it again this weekend, and maybe I'll revisit her views about it.

Posted by: Tatsy

I mistakenly was logged in as Tatiana...this is Guy.

Posted by: That1Guy

I spoke with Tatiana again this evening about her thoughts on the movie. She said that many Russian movies that were made after perestroika are similar in that they emphasize negative things too much or too dramatically. She says the ending is too gloomy. She repeated that the first half of the movie was very good, and she wishes the ending was more like that.

We both think the reason for the grandfather's suicide was that he had renounced his religion for most of his life (albiet for reasons of survival). Remember his antisementic attitude for much of the movie? We feel he was ashamed of this (which would indicate his true sentiments regarding the Jewish religion) and in a moment of despair (or maybe deep regret), he ended his life. This is why she feels that it was going too far to have him commit suicide - not likely to happen in true life.

Guy

Posted by: Cheburashka

Interesting perspective. I always thought he did it because he cheated death so many years before. He actually got up from the pile of dead bodies and walked away after the Nazi firing squad. I thought he felt like he should have been put to rest there with all the others from Trachimbrod. His past has been chasing him for many years and now he finally had peace with everything that happened.

I bought the soundtrack and listen to it occasionally. The music is awesome!

PS: Read the credits. The actual person who is played by Elijah Wood makes a cameo appearance in the film. He is the guy who walks by with the leaf blower at the cemetery at the start of the film.

PPS: Your Tatiana sounds like a wonderful person with a kind heart.

Posted by: That1Guy

Cheburashka,

Tatiana is a kind person (except when she's physically abusing me)

(kidding)

The grandson did says something regarding his grandfather's state of mind (peaceful maybe) after his suicide. I just have difficulty associating peace of mind with suicide.

We both really enjoyed the movie though.