Larry Gopnik, un profesor de física del Medio Oeste, observa cómo su vida se desmorona ante múltiples incidentes repentinos. Aunque busca sentido y respuestas en medio de su confusión, parec... Leer todoLarry Gopnik, un profesor de física del Medio Oeste, observa cómo su vida se desmorona ante múltiples incidentes repentinos. Aunque busca sentido y respuestas en medio de su confusión, parece que sigue hundiéndose.Larry Gopnik, un profesor de física del Medio Oeste, observa cómo su vida se desmorona ante múltiples incidentes repentinos. Aunque busca sentido y respuestas en medio de su confusión, parece que sigue hundiéndose.
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- Nominado para 2 premios Óscar
- 17 premios y 80 nominaciones en total
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Reseñas destacadas
Those who expect life to be a series of plausible outcomes, logically following some kind of cause and effect order are always disappointed by honest works of art, not to mention life itself. One of the very themes of this film are those kinds of people and their need to cling to some sort of tradition, structure, and belief in order to deny their fear.
Another theme was perspective and perception. That what may seem mundane and meaningless may be filled with the most profound meaning and that which we place so much value in may be worth absolutely nothing.
"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you."
If you can enjoy a movie that leaves you with questions as much as one that attempts to provide answers then I highly recommend a viewing.
It's a humble project for the Coens, but don't ever underestimate what they can do. A Serious Man is a serious picture that makes you laugh and squirm at the misfortune of Larry Gopnik. An average mid-western Jewish man searching for reason in a time where there is none. Tested is he to make peace with HaShem when all around him is moral decay and temptation. The Coens strength is in their characters, which in this film are as rich as they've ever been. I was fascinated by Arthur Gopnik, a borderline autistic man who discovers a map of the universe while tending to his sebaceous cyst. Perhaps my favorite character was Sy Ableman, a self proclaimed "serious man" from the community who Larry's wife is cheating on him with. His purposely affected anglo-saxon accent nearly killed me. It's the littlest eccentricities of people that the Coens always explore and exploit and it's eternally delightful.
"A Serious Man" is the the latest comedy by the Coens brothers's and it turned out to be one of the worst films I had the displeasure to watch this year. The film is essentially a dark comedy, which seems to be the Coens favorite genre, but with emphasis on the dark. Burn After Reading, the Coens previous film, was also very dark but at the same time, extremely funny. A Serious Man doesn't deliver any laughs whatsoever, and seems to be filled with inside/personal jokes. In Brudges is another good example of a well done black comedy, even thought tragedy ensues, we can't help but laugh. By now, I hope it's clear that I enjoy dark humor as much as the next guy but there's just no humor at all in A Serious Man. I could have still enjoyed the film, had the story been well written but it wasn't. It's a conglomerate of silly situations and awkward moments glued together with no resemblance to an actual story. A modern retelling of the Book of Job? Perhaps. A well written story? Absolutely not.
The film didn't deliver on any level and ended up being painfully dull. The reviews for this film have been so positive, and it was so well received by the critics that those who hated the film will be, I'm sure, immediately accused of "not getting it". Maybe you do have to be fully aware of the Jewish culture, or a big fan of the Coens brothers to actually enjoy the film but, as I stand, A Serious Man is a terrible film, that apart from the great set and wardrobe, has no redeeming qualities.
2/10
Once again Joel and Ethan delve into ancient texts to tell a modern parable about the disconnect between religion and science using the Book of Job as their mirror tale. Each tragedy shows us how Larry is torn between his profession and his heritage. Stuhlbarg's interpretation of this character is the strongest part of this film; little nuances of touching himself and, a definite sense of discomfort throughout made me empathise with Larry in every scene. Even the facial movements of Larry illustrates the strain being placed upon this man.
The dialogue in the film could be poetic at times, but there was a constant drive towards narrative, and it left me feeling removed from connecting with anyone but Larry. The scene where Larry is being told by his wife's lover that he has to move out felt comic but cold, and the majority of other scenes kept this tone. And since the plot was a bit episodic, this made the tragedies feel unreal and repetitive.
The Coen's direction also felt tired compared to their other films. Typical Coen brother tracking shots, their usual portrait shots, action shots contained to one characters reaction; nothing new. The care and inventiveness that I would usually expect wasn't there. I suppose it being the fourth film from the two in a three year period, they just didn't seem wholly engaged in it. One particular scene where they are tracking a shot down a hall to a crying woman as her crying gets louder, it didn't add any further character development and wasn't interesting but felt like a "Coen" shot.
Thematically the film was alright, and there are some interesting things that could be analysed, but it was was underwhelming and at times a bit vague in what they were actually trying to say. The ending of the film was indicative of this; 2 interwoven scenes concluding two plots, adding more tragedies to Larry's life but giving nothing to the audience except these tragedies and a feeling of resignation. Being this direct in the treatment of your subject can be dull, and I was left unsatisfied.
¿Sabías que...?
- CuriosidadesThe names of the characters who ride the school bus with Danny Gopnik are the names of children that the Coen brothers grew up with.
- PifiasIn the final scenes where Larry changes Clive's failing grade, you can clearly see the erasure marks of the new grade before he erases the old one. This could denote the film makers needing several takes to get the right shot. Yet, it could also have been chosen to be included on purpose to show that Larry struggled many times with the morality of passing Clive, going so far as to update his grade, but had changed his mind.
- Citas
Rabbi Nachtner: You know Lee Sussman.
Larry Gopnik: Doctor Sussman? I think I - yeah.
Rabbi Nachtner: Did he ever tell you about the goy's teeth?
Larry Gopnik: No... I- What goy?
Rabbi Nachtner: So... Lee is at work one day; you know he has the orthodontic practice there at Great Bear. He's making a plaster mold - it's for corrective bridge work - in the mouth of one of his patients, Russell Kraus. The mold dries and Lee is examining it one day before fabricating an appliance. He notices something unusual. There appears to be something engraved on the inside of the patient's lower incisors. He vav shin yud ayin nun yud. "Hwshy 'ny". "Help me, save me". This in a goy's mouth, Larry. He calls the goy back on the pretense of needing additional measurements for the appliance. "How are you? Noticed any other problems with your teeth?" No. There it is. "Hwshy 'ny". "Help me". Son of a gun. Sussman goes home. Can Sussman eat? Sussman can't eat. Can Sussman sleep? Sussman can't sleep. Sussman looks at the molds of his other patients, goy and Jew alike, seeking other messages. He finds none. He looks in his own mouth. Nothing. He looks in his wife's mouth. Nothing. But Sussman is an educated man. Not the world's greatest sage, maybe, no Rabbi Marshak, but he knows a thing or two from the Zohar and the Caballah. He knows that every Hebrew letter has its numeric equivalent. 8-4-5-4-4-7-3. Seven digits... a phone number, maybe? "Hello? Do you know a goy named Kraus, Russell Kraus?" Who? "Where have I called? The Red Owl in Bloomington. Thanks so much." He goes. It's a Red Owl. Groceries; what have you. Sussman goes home. What does it mean? He has to find out if he is ever to sleep again. He goes to see... the Rabbi Nachtner. He comes in, he sits right where you're sitting right now. "What does it mean, Rabbi? Is it a sign from Hashem, 'Help me'? I, Sussman, should be doing something to help this goy? Doing what? The teeth don't say. Or maybe I'm supposed to help people generally, lead a more righteous life? Is the answer in Caballah? In Torah? Or is there even a question? Tell me, Rabbi, what can such a sign mean?"
[pause as the Rabbi drinks his tea]
Larry Gopnik: So what did you tell him?
Rabbi Nachtner: Sussman?
Larry Gopnik: Yes!
Rabbi Nachtner: Is it... relevant?
Larry Gopnik: Well, isn't that why you're telling me?
Rabbi Nachtner: Okay. Nachtner says, look. The teeth, we don't know. A sign from Hashem? Don't know. Helping others... couldn't hurt.
Larry Gopnik: No! No, but... who put it there? Was it for him, Sussman, or for whoever found it, or for just, for, for...
Rabbi Nachtner: We can't know everything.
Larry Gopnik: It sounds like you don't know anything! Why even tell me the story?
Rabbi Nachtner: [chuckling] First I should tell you, then I shouldn't.
Larry Gopnik: What happened to Sussman?
Rabbi Nachtner: What would happen? Not much. He went back to work. For a while he checked every patient's teeth for new messages. He didn't find any. In time, he found he'd stopped checking. He returned to life. These questions that are bothering you, Larry - maybe they're like a toothache. We feel them for a while, then they go away.
Larry Gopnik: I don't want it to just go away! I want an answer!
Rabbi Nachtner: Sure! We all want the answer! But Hashem doesn't owe us the answer, Larry. Hashem doesn't owe us anything. The obligation runs the other way.
Larry Gopnik: Why does he make us feel the questions if he's not gonna give us any answers?
Rabbi Nachtner: He hasn't told me.
[Larry puts his face in his hands in despair]
Larry Gopnik: And... what happened to the goy?
Rabbi Nachtner: The goy? Who cares?
- Créditos adicionalesAt the end of the credits is a line advising that "No Jews were harmed in the making of this motion picture."
- ConexionesFeatured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Surrogates/Pandorum/Fame (2009)
- Banda sonoraSomebody to Love
Written by Darby Slick
Performed by Jefferson Airplane
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label
By arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment
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Detalles
- Fecha de lanzamiento
- Países de origen
- Sitio oficial
- Idiomas
- Títulos en diferentes países
- Un home seriós
- Localizaciones del rodaje
- República Checa(scenes before opening credits)
- Empresas productoras
- Ver más compañías en los créditos en IMDbPro
Taquilla
- Presupuesto
- 7.000.000 US$ (estimación)
- Recaudación en Estados Unidos y Canadá
- 9.228.768 US$
- Fin de semana de estreno en EE. UU. y Canadá
- 251.337 US$
- 4 oct 2009
- Recaudación en todo el mundo
- 31.431.652 US$
- Duración
- 1h 46min(106 min)
- Color
- Mezcla de sonido
- Relación de aspecto
- 1.85 : 1