Everything Is Illuminated Reaction

            When we first began watching Everything Is Illuminated I was simply confused. Jonathan seemed so complex and round I didn’t know how to relate to him or even what this movie was going to be about. I didn’t understand his collecting or why he was watching his family member die but like everyone else this movie was making me laugh so I was getting into the plot. I thought this movie was definitely going to be a comedy. I was laughing at Alex, the collecting, the soundtrack and especially the gag jokes like the “seeing eye bitch”. It wasn’t until the mystery and real plot of the movie was exposed that I really started to enjoy the film. When Jonathan started on his quest for answers about his family I got really into the movie and wanted to know about the picture, insect charm and the history of his family as well.

            I was very impress by the foreshadowing of this movie. I liked how after something was brought to light you, as a viewer, would actually have an out loud reaction because you had seen that river before or you knew what that line really meant. But, to me, what made this movie so good were the other searches for answers. As viewers, we were all searching for answers about the Grandfather. We were looking for answers about what his role in the town was, if he was a Nazi or resident, if he killed or was shot at and what actually happened to him before he came to Odessa. Alex was wondering what was wrong with his Grandfather and the Grandfather, I thought, was looking for closure.

            Overall, it was the overlapping of themes and searches that make this movie so interesting to me. I thought this movie was so entertaining because you got to go along and find the answers to each search but also watched the characters transform from odd, complex and easy to dislike to people you cared about because you knew something secret about them the other characters didn’t.