Talk:Everything Is Illuminated (film)

"zhid" as "kike" = nonsense.
I have removed the line which claims that in the ukrainian language the word "zhid" is a pejorative that translates as "kike." this is utter nonsense. Zhid is simpply "Jew," which, as in English. Can take on negative connotations in certain settings just as it can in English (and just as other words can too) but is by no means primarily or even largely a pejorative (unlike the n-word, which might under some uses have non pejorative connotations but is primarily a pejorative). It is occasionally stated by ignorants that the word "evrei" is the "polite" alternative. Rubbish! "evrei" means "Hebrew", which is as stilted t use in Ukrainian as it would be to call a group of jewish people in the USA a bunch of "hebrews." and, of course, there is the issue that Jews in the location of the movie were at most Yiddish, not Hebrew speakers. Then idea that "zhid" means "kike" has for decades been a deliberate bit of misinformation meant to discredit and deligitimize Ukrainian nationalism. It has no place in Wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.124.51.61 (talk) 10:37, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

Suicide
The article states that the Grandfather does not kill himself, but I'm pretty sure it's implied that he does in the book, though it is not explicitly stated. I don't have my copy of the novel right now, but if someone could look it up that'd be great, I believe it's in the final letter section of the book, just before the final historical story but I could be wrong. (71.192.34.220 (talk) 02:08, 20 May 2008 (UTC))

The article actually states "In the movie, Alex's grandfather commits suicide by slitting his wrists in a bathtub during their trip, while in the book, he does not do so."

In the book, Alex's grandfather doesn't kill himself during their trip. He does it later, after Jonathan has returned to the US. So, technically the claim is true, although, it could do with a re-write to avoid ambiguity. ~ Loop —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.28.117.34 (talk) 16:14, 23 May 2008 (UTC) I have now re-written this part, to make it clearer. ~ Loop

Language

 *  Although the film is set in the Ukraine, all non-English dialogue is in Russian rather than Ukrainian

Not exactly true—when the main characters are driving in the countryside they stop a couple of times to ask for directions in Russian, and the locals respond in Ukrainian. These moments are lost for anglophones reading the subtitles, but precious for one who can make out the language. —Michael Z. 2006-01-21 09:39 Z 

Indeed. I noticed that and changed it. Also, the peasant woman at the end speaks Russian with a Ukranian accent, so one can assume that her primary language is Ukranian and there is no inconsistency. -Alex

Copyvio
Copyright violations:
 * Review
 * Elijah Wood's performance
 * Synopsis

Few actors have promoted a film with more elegance and grace. (For a transcript of this interview press here).

Someone's been cut-and-pasting the trivia section methinks.

I'm gutting this article. Please properly cite the source of any new additions. —Michael Z. 2006-10-06 18:42 Z 


 * Sorry, grandfather informs me this not possible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.170.133.79 (talk) 14:04, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Everything Is Illuminated film.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 21:36, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Bzenc
I am a collector. In 1980 I attempted to visit the shtetl Bzenc. -- don kempner warner saklad the zak (talk) 07:29, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Car?
Can anyone find a source for ID of the car? All I can find are people asking the same question. Tedder (talk) 07:06, 6 July 2008 (UTC)
 * It is Trabant 601 Kombi, a product not of Russia but of East Germany. --Jvs.cz (talk) 15:59, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

How it ends
Is it relevant to say that "How it ends" by DeVotchka (used in the trailer) is the title track of Little Miss Sunshine, which Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf also produced? 143.195.203.83 (talk) 04:07, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Train Station
The train station in the film says Lviv, but that's not Lviv's train station. It's definitely not Odesa's train station. Does anyone know where that was shot?88.88.110.191 (talk) 19:05, 28 April 2009 (UTC)


 * For this exterior shot, Prague Industrial Palace built in 1891 is being used. The shot by train probably shows Masaryk Railway Station. --Jvs.cz (talk) 15:55, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Zhyd
I assure you, that this word is very offensive everywhere in ex-USSR. It's like calling Afro-american - "nigger". But sometimes it can be used in an ironic manner.


 * I agree. "Jewish" in Russian is "Evrej". By the way in the dinner scene at the Ukrainian hotel the grandfather's knowledge of yiddish is revealed when he translates for his nephew the word shtetl (village). He can grasp the word pronounced by the American guest because of their common linguistic family background so I think that yiddish also should be listed among the languages of this movie. 2.40.137.210 (talk) 15:19, 30 January 2013 (UTC)


 * In ukrainian 'жид' coresponds to 'jew' and 'єврей' to 'hebrew', 'жид' can be seen as more blunt in some contexts but is by no means outright derogatory in the ukrainian language 216.154.80.194 (talk) 18:27, 17 February 2014 (UTC)

Plot
The plot reads like a promo... The plot section should contain a summary of the overall plot, including how it ends (WP does not hold back from including "spoilers" — nor warns about their presence — this is an encyclopædia, not a trailer/promo site for books/movies). — al-Shimoni  (talk) 21:26, 20 June 2012 (UTC)

Augustine's role
I found these sections confusing and possibly contradictory:

Jonathan Safran Foer, a young American Jew, goes on a quest to Ukraine to find Augustine, the woman who saved his grandfather, Safran Foer, during the Holocaust.

and

Lista tells them that Augustine, the pregnant first wife of Jonathan's grandfather, was killed by Nazi soldiers after her father refused to spit on the Torah. She leads them to the site where the town had been. Jonathan's grandfather had left for America the week before the massacre.

If "Jonathan's grandfather had left for America the week before the massacre," how did Augustine save his grandfather? I assume by enabling him to leave for the U.S., but this is not made clear. I could not resolve this by the https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404030/ page, so am just opening the topic. BlueIris2 (talk) 21:24, 22 June 2024 (UTC)