Embedded Files
"Alex : I have reflected many times upon our rigid search. It has shown me that everything is illuminated in the light of the past. It is always along the side of us, on the inside, looking out."
Everything is Illuminated - A Movie & Questions: Students will watch a film - answering some questions immediately - and more involved thinking prompts at home. This is the second film that I used with "The History of Love". The first was "Wings of Desire" which I also believe worked wonderful well - but was, perhaps, a bit too esoteric.
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
Everything is Illuminated Movie Questions (see my page on Movie Questions). You can also see my first film that I showed in this class, The Return of Martin Guerre, for more reasoning on how and why I choose a specific movie. In a nutshell there are two different types of questions - those in bold that the students answer while they are watching the movie (it keeps them focused and on track) and those questions in italics that the students answer for homework. Each of the latter questions is a kind of mini-essay that requires them to use what they found in their reading of the novel, our discussions & group works, and their viewing of the movie.
NOTE: THERE IS A GRAPHIC SCENE of Suicide in this FILM. The scene involves the discovery of the body. The handout has been designed to facilitate the teacher having the option of turning off the visuals or having possibly triggered students put their heads down. See the Handout.
The Movie - Everything is Illuminated
The Movie - Everything is Illuminated
Here is the description taken from JustWatch (a site that tells you where a movie is streaming): "A young Jewish American man endeavors—with the help of eccentric, distant relatives—to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II—in a Ukrainian village which was ultimately razed by the Nazis." The trailer can be found here.
Handout (Movie Questions)
Handout (Movie Questions)
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes
Movie Questions: Docx PDF NOTE: THERE IS A GRAPHIC SCENE of Suicide in this FILM. IThe scene involves the discovery of the body. The handout has been designed to facilitate the teacher having the option of turning off the visuals or having possibly triggered students put their heads down. See the Handout.
PLEASE NOTE (FOR THIS HANDOUT) - the immediate questions are NOT boldfaced, but the at-home thoughtful questions are italicized. From the handout: The novel that this movie is based on was written by Jonathan Safran Foer (the ex-husband of Nicole Krauss) – like The History of Love – this movie (and the original novel) have many stories that interweave and connect from one to the other. The film removes one of the novel’s stories – but there are still at least three different tales going on here – though you have to pull most of those together yourself as they unfold during the often hilarious, often poignant road trip that constitutes most of the movie If you feel that at times not much is going on, think again.
Audio Visual Content
Audio Visual Content
Again - here is the link to JustWatch.com - where you can find where The Return of Martin Guerre is streaming. I find it really strange that there is physical media for this amazing film.
Remote Enhancements
Remote Enhancements
It is more than possible to watch films together with your class - usually that means having the video you are watching on your computer and sharing the screen with students. You can also keep the comment window open to share things with them (just don't get too distracting). You can also see if they are paying attention or not.
Links
Links
The book that the film is based on can be found here. Here is the description from Amazon: "NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. Jonathan Safran Foer's debut—"a funny, moving...deeply felt novel about the dangers of confronting the past and the redemption that comes with laughing at it, even when that seems all but impossible." (Time)
With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man—also named Jonathan Safran Foer—sets out to find the woman who might or might not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis.
Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war, an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior, and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past.
Class Recordings (for registered members)
Class Recordings (for registered members)
Audio
Audio
Video
Video
The students Illuminated Text Projects should be next. If you want to do an in class essay - you can go here. After that it is time to start Candide.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
This is the second film I've shown with The History of Love. I will also post the other one on our site. But, as much as I love Wings of Desire - this movie really resonated with my students. The suicide scene is always tricky. By this point in the year - I know my students and I not only make a warning in class - it is worked into the handout, and on top of that I speak with individual students as well. This movie concerns a character named Jonathan (like the author) who is termed a "collector". That sure has a special resononance with the author of this website...
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse