MovieChat Forums > Everything Is Illuminated (2005) Discussion > Why did they have to change the plot?

Why did they have to change the plot?

posted 14 years ago by cpuller-642-329716
8 replies | jump to latest

I read the book and really enjoyed it was funny as hell and very moving.
But the film is different at least the end.
In the book at least as I recall alex's grandfather was forced to betray safran the grandfather of jonathan.
He also wasnt a jew, so that makes it more understandable that he became bitter
And the city was blown away by artillery which explains why there is no village anymore.

The end in the film comes very out of the blue.

This film could be an hour longer but that much better by telling the details that were in the book.

But liked the idea that joanthan is obsessed with collecting. thats something that fits to the character.

[–] stringstothelast 14 years ago

Lol. Maybe it's your first time to love a book and watch it transform into a movie and turn out to be different and chopped.

I do things crazily. Quite Natural for me, actually.

[–] gokhan-22 14 years ago

Yes I agree with stringstothelast, I have never read the Lord of The Rings but my friends did, and they told me that the book was way different than the movie so most of my friends who have read the book did not like the LOTR. However, I find LOTR the best trilogy that was ever made. I watched this movie and I enjoyed, I know that there are some parts which are left as unknown but in general whole soundtracks, acting, camera angles and Ukraine are fascinating. I did not know that Liev Schreiber is a good director. Nice work.

[–] booksandcoffee 14 years ago

I love the book Everything is Illuminated, so I rented the film with more than an ounce of skepticism. But I gave it a shot and though it was not 100% faithful to the book, I enjoyed the film as a whole. While I missed the strictly Ukrainian atmosphere I thought the Russian elements were equally interesting, and the acting was top notch. Elijah Wood is known for his larger, more grand scale films, but it takes a small movie like this to really recognize his great talent. He's extraordinary.

[–] robertodelamar 14 years ago

I am not sure what you mean by, "strictly Ukrainian atmosphere". The atmosphere WAS Ukrainian.

If you noticed, the digging workers told the boys to go back to Kiev.
That is because Ukrainian language is generally not used in everyday life by the locals in Kiev and it is used even less often in eastern Ukraine.
Thus, although Ukrainians in Odessa are able to speak Ukrainian, they rarely do so and prefer to use Russian in every day life.

Those are the facts.
I live in Ukraine.

[–] sweiland75 14 years ago

What is the common language spoken in Kiev? English? Russian?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GZIDnMzZQ Why does Canada need a queen?

[–] negatyve 14 years ago

The problem is that novels are long-form storytelling while films are short-form. There needs to be compromise to the integrity of any adaptation as it's just impossible to condense a novel into 2 hours. Take, for example, Watchmen. It was received praise for keeping the integrity of the story intact by fans of the original while simultaneously alienating many others by creating a film that was just too overwrought and bloated. Film makers need to keep in mind that the majority of their audience will be people who haven't experienced the original.

It's a balancing act, for sure, but one that I feel was pulled off quite well in Everything is Illuminated. The details between Safran and Alex's grandfather weren't as important to the story as it was to convey the sense of guilt the character has carried with him throughout his life, and it was done efficiently and without dialogue. Sure, it could have been done with an additional 30+ min of flashbacks, or Alex could have narrated it or there could have been dialogue explaining it...but each of those would have been a poor choice for this story in this medium. The flashbacks as is serve the film perfectly while more would have weighed down the experience, Alex's ignorance of the whole truth I feel is integral to his character's whimsical nature and dialogue explaining additional subplots would have just been a bad move. As for the village, you can certainly come to the conclusion that it was destroyed in the war by what you're given. I don't think it needs to be spelled out for the audience.

I was very happy with the adaptation. This is one of few films that I repeatedly return to and constantly recommend to friends.

[–] gabynew1 14 years ago

i agree with you. the movie did leave hints here and there so that those with a curious mind would find out that they need to read the book for the entire story.

[–] covenant1978 13 years ago

Alex's grandfather did not betray Safran in the book... he betrayed his best friend who was Jewish.. Safran was able to leave before the nazi's came, hence why he was in America and not dead...