If you're looking for something to add to your Netflix queue, you can do a lot worse than "Everything Is Illuminated," the screen version of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel that came and went in a blink from movie screens last summer. (No, I haven't read the book).
Directed by actor Liev Schreiber, it's a well-made, well-told, very Jewish story, combining light-hearted comedy with unspeakable tragedy (it is partly about the Holocaust, after all). And on top of that, an excellent soundtrack comprised almost entirely of Klezmer music. Considering that I haven't yet liked a summer blockbuster this year, 'Illuminated' came as a breath of fresh air.
Posted by Stephen Silver at June 7, 2006 01:57 AMIlluminated was a well made little movie. My wife and I saw it in theaters and really enjoyed it, but since she read the book, she couldn't help but compare them (in her opinion, the book is better).
Also, for the record, the soundtrack is mostly comprised of music by the band fronted by Eugene Hütz (who plays the tour guide) called Gogol Bordello.
Check them out, they describe themselves as "Gypsy punks" and they are based out of NYC (most of them are Eastern European Immigrants). They actually appear in the film as the band that plays the Star Spangled Banned at the train station.