A Serious Man, 2009

Director: Ethan Cohen & Joel Cohen
Award --nominated for a Golden Globe
Starring: Michel Stuhlbarg;  Sari Lennick; Aaron Wolff;  Jessica McManus
IMDB Link:A Serious Man

sez says: This is one of my favorite films of the year.   Lots of folks say this is just a send up of Jewish culture. That certainly is part of it but to me it is only a starting point of this profound look at life.  Gopnik's life is really just like all of our lives: names and events differ, but the trajectory is the same.  Life is just one thing after another.  Some of it good. Some of it is not so good. And certainly much of it is mysterious and frustrating. And in the middle of it all we are offered unexpected moments of fun: like seeing the neighbor's wife naked. And even when we are offered little moments of joy we are not sure how to accept them.  Generally we have no idea why things happen.  We look for help and we ask why and we ask what should we do!?   But the point is, ultimately, there are no answers, mystical or otherwise.   If we are lucky, life will go on offering up clueless children, and messages written on the back of teeth, separations and reconciliations. That is the gift of life.  And what is the alternative?  Well most of us choose life over ending it all, so we might as well relax, accept all that it entails, and just take a deep breath when the phone rings in the middle of the night.

mjc says:  This time sez has captured the whole impact of the movie, in fact, her notes are the best review I have seen of this movie.  love it!