Roger Ebert loves EII! \o/
Sep. 14th, 2005 08:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ourdramaqueenhttp://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/FILMFESTIVALS03/509130301
They took a chance. So did Liev Schreiber when he directed “Everything is Illuminated,” starring Elijah Wood as a solemn young man who goes to the Ukraine to thank the woman who saved his grandfather’s life, and meets two half-crazy guides who specialize in “tours of dead Jews.” There is the old grandfather (Boris Leskin) and his grandson (Eugene Hutz), an actor who sings with a gypsy punk band and is in his first movie. The film begins as a screwball comedy and finds a trajectory straight to the beating heart of truth, and how Schreiber controls that tonal shift in his directorial debut is hard to say, but he does. I went to see the film a second time because I felt I had been paying the wrong kind of attention when I saw a screening a month ago, and I was right about being wrong. Yes, I gave it thumbs up on TV, but I wasn’t focused on its greatness. I think it helps to see it twice, to understand the journey it takes.
Someone mentioned he'd be reviewing EII on this coming Sunday's show - I hope someone can tape and upload it, would love to see/hear what he has to say on the show!
They took a chance. So did Liev Schreiber when he directed “Everything is Illuminated,” starring Elijah Wood as a solemn young man who goes to the Ukraine to thank the woman who saved his grandfather’s life, and meets two half-crazy guides who specialize in “tours of dead Jews.” There is the old grandfather (Boris Leskin) and his grandson (Eugene Hutz), an actor who sings with a gypsy punk band and is in his first movie. The film begins as a screwball comedy and finds a trajectory straight to the beating heart of truth, and how Schreiber controls that tonal shift in his directorial debut is hard to say, but he does. I went to see the film a second time because I felt I had been paying the wrong kind of attention when I saw a screening a month ago, and I was right about being wrong. Yes, I gave it thumbs up on TV, but I wasn’t focused on its greatness. I think it helps to see it twice, to understand the journey it takes.
Someone mentioned he'd be reviewing EII on this coming Sunday's show - I hope someone can tape and upload it, would love to see/hear what he has to say on the show!
