Posted on 09/12/2009 9:18:07 AM PDT by Saije
No doubt some filmgoers will be more than a little surprised by the overtly religious themes explored in A Serious Man, the latest film from brother-filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen*****
While they are Jewish and were reared in a religious home in suburban Minneapolis, the Coens have never dabbled in heavy-handed religious fare à la Cecil B. de Mille's epics, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ or, more unfortunately, John Travolta's tribute to his Scientology faith, Battlefield Earth.
A Serious Man is a black comedy set in the Coen brothers' real-life hometown of St. Louis Park, Minn., in 1967 and tells the story of Larry Gopnik, a modern-day Job...
Gopnik, played by newcomer Michael Stuhlbarg, is a physics professor at a local university. Gopnik's suburban serenity begins to devolve when his wife announces she's leaving him for Sy Abelman...a corpulent, pious bloviating fellow professor. A series of minor, if life-altering, calamities lead Gopnik to question the existence of God and the meaning of life – and of suffering*****
The average moviegoer may not realize the duo who gave us whimsical comedies such as The Hudsucker Proxy, The Ladykillers and Burn After Reading, are the same guys that made the bleakly noir The Man Who Wasn't There and the gangland period piece Miller's Crossing.
The cinematic styles, periods and themes of their films are so varied, some critics have wondered whether there is an overarching vision to the Coens' work. I would argue that it is the spirituality – the theological notions, the existential questions, and the religious ideas – of their films that, to paraphrase one of the oft-quoted lines from Lebowski (a flick so spiritually significant and influential that it literally has spawned its own religion, the 60,000-strong Church of the Latter-day Dude), really ties the room together.
(Excerpt) Read more at thestar.com ...
Bardem was the perfect, focused sociopath and Jones finally found a place where his jaded, world-weary, wrinkly self fit right in.
John Getz
I wanted to see it at the theater but I don’t “do” theaters anymore. Too many distractions. I purchased it when it came out on DVD. What a great movie. It didn’t take long to sell out at our Walmart. Like you said, it grabs you from the beginning and it never lets go. I appreciate movies like that.
The Passion of the Christ and Ghost Rider.
I can not *stand* our local theaters.
They're long and narrow like bowling alleys and the screens, for some insane reason, are curved.
Whoever was running the projector just couldn't seem to manage “FOCUS!!!” and watching both movies later on a hi-def LCD TV was ~much~ better.
NO NO NO NO NO!!!
No more stupid “remakes”!!!
I sat through *two* versions of “Dark Water” and that burned me out forever on “remakes”.
I love the Coen brothers. They have a very high percentage of excellence. Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Miller’s Crossing, Fargo, Oh Brother Where Art Thou. And I don’t care what others say, Hudsucker Proxy was hilarious. And I liked The Man Who Wasn’t There. I didn’t really like No Country for Old Men, which won them an Oscar. Go figure. I really love Miller’s Crossing.
I’m with you. I loooooove Miller’s Crossing. I wish Gabriel Byrne got more work. He’s outstanding. Blood Simple is very cool, too. Sorta cheesy 80s noir, but very cool. I saw that when it came out. Coen Bros fan ever since.
For all you FARGO fans, check out this youtube reenactment scene from the car dealer. This guys does a bunch of different movie scene reenactments and he’s really quite amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z7O_VZ9zN4
check out his channel...his GoodFellas funny like a clown scene is amazing. He NAILS William Macy in this Fargo scene.
Are they giving Saul Bellow screen credit and royalties?
Also, New Yorker readers might be surprised to find the pious bloviator named Ableman and the hero called Gopnik?
See Man on Fire, starring Denzel Washington. It should change your opinion of remakes.
“Boy, you got a panty on your head.”
“You missed a spot”
LOL!
Looked like bunny ears....:))
I’m still too traumatized by “The Wicker Man” remake.
[Nick...what were you *thinking*?!?]
“Her womb was rocky ground, where my seed could find no purchase.”
LOLOL!
Stop it or I’m gonna have to go rent it today...:))
[wait...do I already own it? So many DVDs I don’t know what I have any more]
May want to hold off on that call.
The Coen’s next film is rumored to be a True Grit remake. Luckily, I trust their judgment as I’m not sure about Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn but that is what I have heard. Yes, The Dude as The Duke.
Well, which is it Mister, do you want us to freeze or get on the floor?--Bank robbery hostage. LOL!
That was really bad.
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