A SERIOUS MAN: A SMART FILM

Larry Gopnik: "The Uncertainty Principle. It proves we can't ever really know... what's going on. So it shouldn't bother you. Not being able to figure anything out. Although you will be responsible for this on the mid-term."

This film is said to be more of a personal, almost autobiographical film from the Coen brothers. Set in 1967 in a very Jewish Bloomington Minnesota, Larry Gopnik is a Physics professor with a full life...

His son is preparing for his bar-mitzvah and his daughter seems to have nothing better to do than to wait around until she is asked to marry. His wife is having an affair, his brother is involved in shady business and the TV reception is terrible. He seeks the advice of three rabbis, almost on a quest for some serious soul searching on serious matters for serious advice. What we get is a stunning period piece (must see the DVD extra feature on how they did it) and a lot of great insight into both the Jewish community and the mind of this serious man. The dialogue is sharp and the story is well written. It's hard to nail down what it was about exactly. It was touching and funny and eerie all at the same time. The Coen brothers have a way of itching that spot that you can't quite reach and didn't know really itched that much. It is clever and certainly unlike anything I've seen before.

Big bite: Engaging and entertaining; some things don't warrant explanation.

Its almost nine minutes into the film before we hear any spoken English.

The Coen Brothers stated that the opening scene was nothing more than a little short that the made up to get the audience in the proper mood, and that there is no meaning behind it.

In his argument with the Columbia House records employee over the phone, Larry Gopnik repeatedly rejects the album Abraxas by Santana, in a variety of ways. He did not order Abraxas, he doesn't want Abraxas, he won't listen to Abraxas. Abraxas is a Gnostic term for God, particularly a God who is encompasses all things from Creator of the Universe to the Devil, and an etymological root for "abracadabra". It is thus implied that Larry Gopnik is vehemently rejecting God and magic.

IMDB