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