As I heard about the young author of the novel, I was curious to see this "art house" film. Lots of elements sounded promising to me, most notably the idea of a youthful contemporary (and a bit odd)New Yorker returning to his roots in Ukraine, the home of my ancestors as well.
Although Elijah Wood's character is pretty one-note (albeit quite interesting), the film is populated with many intriguing people. Eugene Hutz portrays our narrator, Alex, who is just fascinating. His was an award-caliber performance, a splendid meshing of well-written character brilliantly brought to life on the screen.
This film starts nicely but builds throughout. The last hour-half so touching and so surprising (at least to me!).
Hats off to Liev Schreiber for transforming this small novel into a film with so many wonderful scenes. Seeing modern day Ukraine was, well, illuminating. Hope this thoroughly engrossing little gem has a much wider audience in its post-theatrical release.
Although Elijah Wood's character is pretty one-note (albeit quite interesting), the film is populated with many intriguing people. Eugene Hutz portrays our narrator, Alex, who is just fascinating. His was an award-caliber performance, a splendid meshing of well-written character brilliantly brought to life on the screen.
This film starts nicely but builds throughout. The last hour-half so touching and so surprising (at least to me!).
Hats off to Liev Schreiber for transforming this small novel into a film with so many wonderful scenes. Seeing modern day Ukraine was, well, illuminating. Hope this thoroughly engrossing little gem has a much wider audience in its post-theatrical release.