you have done a delightful job of letting this gentile feel very comfortable at the prospect of watching a possibly symbolically enriching honest film -- which is my experience regarding the Coens.
This movie cannot be considered a comedy. For me, it was very emotional and it seemed all too real to be even remotely funny. Nonetheless, it is a smart film about life and adulthood. Stuhlbarg should have been nominated for Best Actor.
I know!! It's so endlessly rewarding! And it does end perfectly, because we all have uncertainty in our faces, and we need to accept the mystery. I love the end of No Country as well, where everything comes full circle
And I love the way the Cohen bros always manage to get their fresh, very personal look on this film which is quite different from the other films I had seen of them.
Very poetic and universal above the very specific cultural features it talks about at the same time.
I don't think its as anti a religious message as people think. It seems the final punchline SPOILER where he makes his first sin and is instantly punished, as well as the boy being told to be a good boy... it really echoes the words of the rabbi who said it is not our place to question, only to do.... although he didn't really make the point very well, the cohens do, showing the tornado coming... we may ask questions and not understand, but at the end of the day, sins are punished ruthlessly.
I have been a big fan of the Coen brothers. However, I found this movie very depressing: God is absent, miseries everywhere, nobody is happy, kids take drugs to avoid the reality. Only if you are Jewish and want to laugh at stereotypes (your aunt, rabbi, lawyer...) , this is not laughing matter.
Anyway Larry is a loser and I did not care what happened to him. Critics might like it, the public will not...
coen brother movies are always funny in an indirect way/sinister. all of the aspects you named above, "god is absent, miseries everywhere, nobody is happy, kids take drugs..." are the reasons i like the movie.
Reading reviews I'm disturbed by the number of viewers who refer to the film as "spiritual." I suppose I see the film less as an in-depth theological/philosophical exploration of existential questions, and more as an absurdist comedy that pokes fun at the failure of human rationale to fully comprehend complexities, consequences, and coincidence. The film doesn't tackle religion, it lampoons laziness of thought, the various ways in which we find meaning, or our silly contentment in not knowing.
5:13. They may not believe much in religious education. But perhaps their Jewish foundation provides them with the kind of thinking that makes them who they are. Jewish thought is essentially about questions, not answers. The same could be said of artists like Phillip Roth and Woody Allen, who claim to be atheists.
Very good review...thanks for thoughtful and intimate explanation. Rank, like beauty and love, participant dependent..."eye of beholder"...easy to love the Coen bros...love them all...next is always the best. bye.
Good review! This sounds like a intimate and thoughtful film experience, I can't wait to see it. I wonder where this ranks among the other Coen Brother films?
Nowhere near as good as Fargo or NCfOM
93MickyD2 4 weeks ago
you have done a delightful job of letting this gentile feel very comfortable at the prospect of watching a possibly symbolically enriching honest film -- which is my experience regarding the Coens.
andy18401 1 year ago
i loved this movie. IT was made into perfection.
ehreeka 1 year ago
this movie sucked a dick...
burtonsponcered 1 year ago
This movie cannot be considered a comedy. For me, it was very emotional and it seemed all too real to be even remotely funny. Nonetheless, it is a smart film about life and adulthood. Stuhlbarg should have been nominated for Best Actor.
allghilliedup1992 1 year ago
@DoctorSalt
I know!! It's so endlessly rewarding! And it does end perfectly, because we all have uncertainty in our faces, and we need to accept the mystery. I love the end of No Country as well, where everything comes full circle
ilovepanslabyrinth 1 year ago
Haha I like the idea.
It was a great film indeed.
And I love the way the Cohen bros always manage to get their fresh, very personal look on this film which is quite different from the other films I had seen of them.
Very poetic and universal above the very specific cultural features it talks about at the same time.
10/10
leonidas75014 2 years ago
I don't think its as anti a religious message as people think. It seems the final punchline SPOILER where he makes his first sin and is instantly punished, as well as the boy being told to be a good boy... it really echoes the words of the rabbi who said it is not our place to question, only to do.... although he didn't really make the point very well, the cohens do, showing the tornado coming... we may ask questions and not understand, but at the end of the day, sins are punished ruthlessly.
hellsfoxes 2 years ago
Turn off your TV! Don't waste power!
LePierre 2 years ago
Gee, if you'd stop blathering about the Coens, potatohead, you might ACTUALLY REVIEW THE MOVIE.
gasfarty 2 years ago
my favorite part was when the rabbi was telling him about the goy with the hebrew carved into his teeth
THEHALOPROVIDER 2 years ago
I have been a big fan of the Coen brothers. However, I found this movie very depressing: God is absent, miseries everywhere, nobody is happy, kids take drugs to avoid the reality. Only if you are Jewish and want to laugh at stereotypes (your aunt, rabbi, lawyer...) , this is not laughing matter.
Anyway Larry is a loser and I did not care what happened to him. Critics might like it, the public will not...
zutzut22 2 years ago
coen brother movies are always funny in an indirect way/sinister. all of the aspects you named above, "god is absent, miseries everywhere, nobody is happy, kids take drugs..." are the reasons i like the movie.
holymom1993 2 years ago
Reading reviews I'm disturbed by the number of viewers who refer to the film as "spiritual." I suppose I see the film less as an in-depth theological/philosophical exploration of existential questions, and more as an absurdist comedy that pokes fun at the failure of human rationale to fully comprehend complexities, consequences, and coincidence. The film doesn't tackle religion, it lampoons laziness of thought, the various ways in which we find meaning, or our silly contentment in not knowing.
borecafe 2 years ago
5:13. They may not believe much in religious education. But perhaps their Jewish foundation provides them with the kind of thinking that makes them who they are. Jewish thought is essentially about questions, not answers. The same could be said of artists like Phillip Roth and Woody Allen, who claim to be atheists.
DanielHendricksSimon 2 years ago 2
Very good review...thanks for thoughtful and intimate explanation. Rank, like beauty and love, participant dependent..."eye of beholder"...easy to love the Coen bros...love them all...next is always the best. bye.
RStram 2 years ago
Good review! This sounds like a intimate and thoughtful film experience, I can't wait to see it. I wonder where this ranks among the other Coen Brother films?
Xenda 2 years ago