Unprovoked oracles and oracles

Coby 2022-04-20 09:01:40

This is a film with strong religious overtones. In the Jewish community of the American Midwest in the 1960s, the seemingly peaceful and orderly life of university physics professor Larry suddenly turned upside down and chaotic. Wife openly confessed that she was dating his colleague at school and asked him to consider divorce and move out; the two children at home became increasingly undisciplined; the mental illness of the elder brother who was unable to take care of himself was getting worse , and got into a lawsuit; a failing Korean student in his class secretly bribed him but threatened to sue him for defamation; a tenure-track job that would have been readily available was rendered uncertain by an anonymous letter. This string of troubles confuses Larry: I've done nothing wrong, so why am I being punished like this? With this question in mind, Larry went to visit the rabbi of the synagogue. The first time I only saw Mage A, he was a young temporary replacement, obviously unable to solve Larry's real problems. First Mage tells Larry that God is everywhere, he just needs to change the way he sees it. For the second time, I finally saw the full-time Mage B. Mage B didn't answer Larry's question, but told him a story about a dentist. The dentist, who is Jewish, accidentally found a row of Jewish scriptures (help me, save me) engraved on the back of a non-Jewish patient's tooth. The dentist was suddenly unable to eat and sleep at night, and he must find an explanation. However, in the end, he found nothing and went back to his old life. Master B said that not every question has an answer, so there is no need to bother to ask. Although Mage B's statement is reasonable, it still can't make Larry feel relieved, because he needs an answer too much. He decided to meet the most virtuous and respected Archmage C in the area. However, he went to a closed door. Master C was too old to accept such adult psychological counseling. By the end of the movie, Larry didn't find the answer he was craving.

The Coen brothers actually had an answer, but they were brilliant at hiding it in the least visible place: Larry's son. The film begins with a line of small print: Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you. This wise note provides an important clue. Then there's an ancient Jewish allegory that seems irrelevant to the plot of the movie. The relationship between this fable and Larry's story is relatively subtle, and roughly expresses the uncertainty of human perception and fate. The fable ends with a blast of rock 'n' roll that seems to come from the depths of the universe, through a long dark tunnel, to Larry's son's headphones. Larry's son was confiscated by an angry teacher because he overheard music on his Walkman in a boring Hebrew class. By the end of the movie, Larry's son is doing well at the bar mitzvah, and he is able to meet Master C and listen to the old Master's teachings, which may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The old mage returned the Walkman. But before returning, he did not speak any Jewish teachings, but said two words to Larry's son: When the truth is found to be lies, when all the hope within you dies, then what? (What do you do when truth turns into a lie and all hope in you is dashed?) These two lines actually come from the first two lines of rock music played at the beginning of the movie, from the hit song Somebody to by Jefferson Airplane in the 1960s. love. One detail is that the old mage changed joy to hope. The old master even named the main members of the band. Funny maybe, why would a well-respected mage be interested in a rock song? The Coen brothers are implicit in this song the answer the child's father is so desperately asking:

When the truth is found to be lies
And all the joy within you dies
Don't you want somebody to love, don't you.. .
Need somebody to love, wouldn't you...
Love somebody to love, you better...
Find somebody to love

The message of the movie is love. Combining Jewish mysticism and modern physics to explain the uncertainty of life, the Coen brothers gave an answer close to Christian teaching. The exact meaning of love is unknown. Larry was a man who lived in his own world. Apart from class, he actually didn't have much communication with other people. He didn't know that his wife was having an affair until she told him; he also didn't know what the child was thinking.

The Coen brothers did not give the answer to the suffering Larry, but to the audience who did not necessarily suffer. The ordeal didn't end here. At the end of the movie, Larry finally decides to accept a bribe from a Korean student because he is short of money to fight a lawsuit against his brother. Just a second after he revised the scores of the Korean students, the phone rang loudly. The doctor who examined him at the beginning of the movie asked him to go over immediately to discuss the results of the X-ray, which obviously indicated a serious condition. Perhaps the implication here is a will of God. In the Bible, Job, who was tortured for no reason, never gave up his faith in God, and finally obtained God's blessing and ended his life of suffering. Larry is actually a modern-day Job, kind but suffering for no reason. However, he was not guaranteed at night and did not reach the realm of Job, so he would lose something even more terrifying—life. Meanwhile, his son and the rest of his classmates stood on the school playground, facing an oncoming tornado, with their fate uncertain. At this time, it was still the deafening Somebody to love.

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Extended Reading
  • Beth 2022-03-26 09:01:05

    - - so flat...narratives...The Coen Brothers' self-improvement film

  • Mylene 2022-03-28 09:01:02

    Kaufman and Cohen. .

A Serious Man quotes

  • Larry Gopnik: Please. I need help. I've already talked to the other rabbis. Please. It's not about Danny's bar mitzvah - my boy Danny, this coming Shabbos, very joyous event, that's all fine. It's, it's more about myself, I've... I've had quite a bit of tsuris lately. Marital problems, professional, you name it. This is not a frivolous request. This is a ser- I'm a ser- I'm, uh, I've tried to be a serious man, you know? Tried to do right, be a member of the community, raise the- Danny, Sarah, they both go to school, Hebrew school, a good breakfast... Well, Danny goes to Hebrew school, Sarah doesn't have time, she mostly... washes her hair. Apparently there are several steps involved, but you don't have to tell Marshak that. Just tell him I need help. Please? I need *help*.

    [the secretary rises, goes to the door behind her, opens it, shuffles into the dimness where she speaks quietly with the aged rabbi, who is idle. She shuffles back, closes the door and sits down]

    Marshak's Secretary: The rabbi is busy.

    Larry Gopnik: He didn't look busy!

    Marshak's Secretary: He's thinking.

  • Judith Gopnik: We shouldn't put the kids in the middle of this, Larry.

    Larry Gopnik: The kids aren't...

    Judith Gopnik: I'm saying "we." I'm not pointing fingers.

    Larry Gopnik: No one is playing the "blame game," Larry.

    Larry Gopnik: I didn't say anyone was!

    Judith Gopnik: Well let's not play He said, She said, either.

    Larry Gopnik: I wasn't! I-...

    Sy Ableman: Aw right, well let's just step back, and defuse the situation, I find, sometimes, if I count to ten.

    [pause]

    Sy Ableman: One... two... three... faw... Or silently.

    [Long pause]

    Judith Gopnik: Really, to keep things on an even keel, especially now, leading up to Danny's bar mitzvah...

    Sy Ableman: A child's bar mitzvah, Larry!

    Judith Gopnik: Sy and I think it's best if you move out of the house.

    Larry Gopnik: Move out?

    Sy Ableman: It makes eminent sense.

    Judith Gopnik: Things can't continue as they...

    Larry Gopnik: Move out! Where would I go?

    Sy Ableman: Well, for instance, the Jolly Roger is quite livable. Not expensive, and the rooms are eminently habitable.

    Judith Gopnik: This would allow you to visit the kids.

    Sy Ableman: There's convenience in its fava. There's a pool...

    Larry Gopnik: Wouldn't it make more sense for you to move in with Sy?

    Judith Gopnik: [Shocked pause] Larry!

    Sy Ableman: Larry, you're jesting!

    Judith Gopnik: Larry, there is much to accomplish before that can happen.

    Sy Ableman: Larry, Larry, Larry. I think, really, the Jolly Roger is the appropriate coss of action. It has a pool.