A Serious
Man(2009)
The Coen Brothers
A Serious
Man(2009)
Cast
The Coen Brothers
A Serious
Man(2009)
Ethan and Joel at the 2009 Toronto
Film Festival screening of A Serious
Man.
The Coen Brothers
A Serious
Man(2009)
The Coen Brothers
Annie
Hall(Woody
Allen,
1977)
The Coen Brothers
“[Uncertainty] has always represented our manner of existence in the
world, and in many respects, for better or worse, it has made us what
we are. Sometimes when I think back on our history, not of these past
few years, but rather its entire sweep, I can make out a perpetual
movement back and forth, a search for roots, for normality and
security, forever threatened down through the centuries, and tell
myself that the Jewish state may perhaps be only a step on the way
of a people whose particular destiny has come to symbolize the
endless quest ever hesitant, ever begun anew, of all mankind."
--Saul Friedlander, When Memory Comes
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
From Wikipedia:
* bagel: a ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling then baking the dough
(from ‫ בײגל‬beygl) (OED, MW)
* blintz: a sweet cheese-filled crepe (Yiddish ‫ בלינצע‬blintse from russian
"блины" bliny) (AHD)
* bris: the circumcision of a male child. (from Hebrew brith 'covenant') (OED,
MW)
* boychick: boy, young man. (English boy + Eastern Yiddish -chik, diminutive
suffix (from Slavic)) (AHD)
* bubkes (also spelled "bupkis"): emphatically nothing, as in He isn't worth
bubkes (literally 'goat droppings', possibly of Slavic origin; cf. Polish bobki
'animal droppings') (MW)
* chutzpah: nerve, guts, daring, audacity, effrontery (Yiddish ‫ חוצּפה‬khutspe,
from Hebrew) (AHD)
* dreck: (vulgar) worthless material, especially merchandise; literally: "crap"
or "shit" (Yiddish ‫ דרעק‬drek cf. German Dreck) (OED, MW)
* dybbuk: the malevolent spirit of a dead person which enters and controls a
living body until exorcised (from Hebrew ‫ דיבוק‬dibbuk, 'a latching-onto')
(AHD)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* fleishig: made with meat (Yiddish ‫ ֿפליישיק‬fleyshik 'meaty', from fleysh
'meat', cf. German fleischig 'meaty') (MW)
* ganef or gonif: thief, scoundrel, rascal (Yiddish ‫ גנֿב‬ganev or ganef 'thief',
from Hebrew gannav). (AHD)
* gelt: money; chocolate coins eaten on Hanukkah (‫ געלט‬gelt 'money', cf.
German Geld) (AHD)
* glitch: a minor malfunction (possibly from Yiddish glitsh, from glitshn 'slide',
cf. German glitschen 'slither') (AHD)
* golem: a man-made humanoid; an android, Frankenstein monster (from
Hebrew ‫ גולם‬gōlem, but influenced in pronunciation by Yiddish goylem)
(OED, MW)
* goy: a Gentile, someone not of the Jewish faith or people (Yiddish ‫גוי‬, plural
‫ גויים‬or ‫ גוים‬goyim; from Hebrew ‫ גויים‬or ‫ גוים‬goyim meaning 'nations [usually
other than Israel]', plural of ‫ גוי‬goy 'nation') (AHD)
* haimish (also heimish): home-like, friendly, folksy (Yiddish ‫ היימיש‬heymish,
cf. German heimisch) (AHD)
* huck; sometimes "hock", "huk", "hak". etc.: to bother incessantly, to break,
or nag; from hakn a tshaynik (break a china teapot). Frequently used by
characters intended to represent residents of New York City, even if not
Jewish, in movies and television shows such as Law & Order.[2]
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* kibitz: to offer unwanted advice, e.g. to someone playing cards; to
converse idly, hence a kibbitzer, gossip (Yiddish ‫ קיבעצן‬kibetsn; cf. German
kiebitzen, related to Kiebitz 'lapwing') (OED, MW)
* klutz: clumsy person (from Yiddish ‫ קלאָ ץ‬klots 'wooden beam', cf. German
Klotz) (OED, MW)
* kosher: conforming to Jewish dietary laws; (slang) appropriate, legitimate
(originally from Hebrew ‫ ּכשר‬kašer) (AHD)
* kvell: to feel delighted and proud to the point of tears (Yiddish ‫ קװעלן‬kveln,
from an old Germanic word akin to German quellen 'well up') (OED, MW)
* kvetch: to complain habitually, gripe; as a noun, a person who always
complains (from Yiddish ‫ קװעטשן‬kvetshn 'press, squeeze', cf. German
quetschen 'squeeze') (OED, MW)
* latke: potato pancake, especially during Hanukkah (from Yiddish ‫לאַ טקע‬,
from either Ukrainian or Russian) (AHD)
* Litvak: a Lithuanian Jew (OED)
* lox: smoked salmon (from Yiddish ‫ לאַ קס‬laks 'salmon'; cf. German Lachs)
(OED, MW)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* macher: big shot, important person (Yiddish ‫ מאַ כער‬makher, literally 'maker'
from ‫ מאַ כן‬makhn 'make', cf. German Macher) (OED)
* mamzer: bastard (from Yiddish or Hebrew ‫( )ממזר‬OED)
* maven: expert; when used in a negative sense: a know-it-all (from Yiddish
‫ מֿבין‬meyvn, from Hebrew mevin 'one who understands') (OED, MW)
* mazel: luck (Yiddish ‫ מזל‬mazl, from Hebrew ‫ מזל‬mazzāl 'luck, planet')
(OED)
* Mazal Tov: congratulations! (Yiddish ‫ מזל־טוֿב‬mazl-tov, from Hebrew mazzāl
ṭōv: mazzāl 'fortune' or 'sign of the Zodiac (constellation)' + ṭōv 'good') (OED,
MW:Hebrew)
* megillah: a tediously detailed discourse (from Yiddish ‫ מגילה‬megile 'lengthy
document, scroll [esp. the Book of Esther]', from Hebrew ‫ מגילה‬məgillā
'scroll') (OED, MW)
* mensch: an upright man; a decent human being (from Yiddish ‫מענטש‬
mentsh 'person', cf. German Mensch) (OED, MW)
* meshuga, also meshugge, meshugah, meshuggah: crazy (Yiddish ‫משוגע‬
meshuge, from Hebrew məšugga‘) (OED, MW)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* meshugas: madness, nonsense, irrational idiosyncrasy (Yiddish ‫משוגעת‬
meshugas, from Hebrew məšugga‘ath, a form of the above) (OED)
* meshuggener: a crazy person (Yiddish ‫ משוגענער‬meshugener, a derivative
of the above ‫ משוגע‬meshuge) (OED)
* milchig: made with milk (Yiddish milkhik milky, from milkh milk, cf. German
milchig) (MW)
* minyan: the quorum of ten male adult (i.e., 13 or older) Jews that is
necessary for the holding of a public worship service (Yiddish ‫ מנין‬minyen,
from Hebrew ‫ מנין‬minyān) (OED, MW:Hebrew)
* mishpocha: extended family (Yiddish ‫ משּפחה‬mishpokhe, from Hebrew
‫ משּפחה‬mišpāḥā) (OED)
* naches: feeling of pride in 1: the achievements of one's children; 2. one's
own doing good by helping someone or some organization (Yiddish ‫נחת‬
nakhes, from Hebrew ‫ נחת‬naḥath 'contentment') (OED)
* narrischkeit: foolishness, nonsense (Yiddish ‫נאַ רישקייט‬, from nar 'fool', cf.
German närrisch 'foolish') (OED)
* nebbish: an insignificant, pitiful person; a nonentity (from Yiddish
interjection nebekh 'poor thing!', from Czech nebohý) (OED, MW)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* noodge, also nudzh: to pester, nag, whine; as a noun, a pest or whiner
(from Yiddish ‫ נודיען‬nudyen, from Polish or Russian) (OED)
* nosh: snack (noun or verb) (Yiddish ‫ נאַ שן‬nashn, cf. German naschen)
(OED, MW)
* nu: multipurpose interjection often analogous to "well?" or "so?" (Yiddish ‫נו‬
nu, perhaps akin to Russian "ну" (nu) or German na='well'; probably not
related to German dialect expression nu [short for nun=now], which might be
used in the same way) (OED)
* nudnik: a pest, "pain in the neck"; a bore (Yiddish ‫ נודניק‬nudnik, from the
above ‫ נודיען‬nudyen; cf. Polish nudne, 'boring') (OED, MW)
* oy or oy vey: interjection of grief, pain, or horror (Yiddish ‫ אוי וויי‬oy vey 'oh,
pain!' or "oh, woe"; cf. German oh weh) (OED)
* pareve: containing neither meat nor dairy products (from Yiddish (‫ּפאַ רעוו)ע‬
parev(e)) (OED, MW)
* pisher: a nobody, an inexperienced person (Yiddish ‫ ּפישער‬pisher, from ‫ּפישן‬
pishn 'piss', cf. German pissen or dialectal German pischen) (OED)
* potch: spank, slap, smack (Yiddish ‫ ּפאטשן‬patshn; cf. German patschen
'slap') (OED)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* plotz: to burst, as from strong emotion (from Yiddish ‫ ּפלאַ צן‬platsn 'crack', cf.
German platzen) (OED)
* putz: an idiot, a jerk; a penis (from Yiddish ‫ ּפאָ ץ‬pots) (AHD)
* schav: A chilled soup. (AHD)
* schlemiel: an inept clumsy person; a bungler; a dolt (Yiddish shlemil from
Hebrew ‫" שלא מועיל‬ineffective") (OED, MW)
* schlep: to drag or haul (an object); to make a tedious journey (from Yiddish
‫ שלעּפן‬shlepn; cf. German schleppen) (OED, MW)
* schlimazel: a chronically unlucky person (‫ שלימזל‬shlimazl, from Middle High
German slim 'crooked' and Hebrew ‫ מזל‬mazzāl 'luck') (OED).[3] In June
2004, Yiddish shlimazl was one of the ten non-English words that were voted
hardest to translate by a British translation company.[4]
* schlock: something cheap, shoddy, or inferior (perhaps from Yiddish shlak
'a stroke', cf. German Schlag) (OED, MW)
* schlong: (vulgar) penis (from Yiddish ‫ שלאַ נג‬shlang 'snake'; cf. German
Schlange) (OED)
•schlub: a clumsy, stupid, or unattractive person (Yiddish ‫ זשלאָ ב‬zhlob 'hick',
perhaps from Polish żłób) (OED, MW)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* schmaltz: melted chicken fat; excessive sentimentality (from Yiddish ‫שמאַ לץ‬
shmalts or German Schmalz) (OED, MW)
* schmatta: a rag (from Yiddish ‫ שמאַ טע‬shmate, from Polish szmata) (OED);
also means junk or low-quality merchandise: "Don't buy from Silverman; all
he sells is schmatta."
* schmeer also schmear: noun or verb: spread (e.g., cream cheese on a
bagel); bribe (from Yiddish ‫ שמיר‬shmir 'smear'; cf. German schmieren) (OED,
MW)
* schmo: a stupid person. (an alteration of schmuck; see below) (OED)
* schmooze: to converse informally, make small talk or chat (from Yiddish
‫ שמועסן‬shmuesn 'converse', from Hebrew shəmūʿōth 'reports, gossip') (OED,
MW)
* schmuck: a contemptible or foolish person; a jerk; literally means 'penis'
(from Yiddish ‫ שמאָ ק‬shmok 'penis', maybe from Polish smok 'dragon') (AHD)
* schmutter: clothing; rubbish (from Yiddish ‫ שמאַ טע‬shmate 'rag', as above)
(OED)
* schmutz - dirt (from Yiddish ‫ שמוץ‬shmuts or German Schmutz 'dirt') (OED)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* schnook: an easily imposed-upon or cheated person, a pitifully meek
person, a particularly gullible person, a cute or mischievous person or child
(perhaps from Yiddish ‫ שנוק‬shnuk 'snout'; cf. Northern German Schnucke
'sheep') (OED)
* schnorrer: beggar (Yiddish ‫ שנאָ רער‬shnorer, cf. German schnorren 'to beg
or steal (usu. a small item of a consumable good) of a friend'[5]) (OED, MW)
* schnoz or schnozz also schnozzle: a nose, especially a large nose
(perhaps from Yiddish ‫ שנויץ‬shnoyts 'snout', cf. German Schnauze) (OED,
MW)
* schvartze: term used to denote black people; can be used derogatorily.
(from Yiddish ‫ שוואַ רץ‬shvarts 'black'; cf. German schwarz). (OED)
* schvitz: schvitz or schviting: To sweat, perspire, exude moisture as a
cooling mechanism (From Yiddish). . (OED)
* Shabbos or Shabbes: Shabbat (Yiddish Shabes, from Hebrew Šabbāth)
(AHD)
* shammes or shamash: the caretaker of a synagogue; also, the 9th candle
of the Hanukkah menorah, used to light the others (Yiddish shames, from
Hebrew ‫ שמש‬šammāš 'attendant') (OED, MW)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* shamus: a detective (possibly from shammes, or possibly from the Irish
name Seamus) (OED, Macquarie)
* shegetz: (derogatory) a young non-Jewish male (Yiddish ‫ שגץ‬or ‫שײגעץ‬
sheygets, from Hebrew šeqeṣ 'blemish') (AHD)
* shemozzle (slang) quarrel, brawl (perhaps related to schlimazel, q.v.)
(OED). This word is commonly used in Ireland to describe confused
situations during the Irish sport of hurling, e.g. 'There was a shemozzle near
the goalmouth'. In particular, it was a favourite phrase of t.v. commentator
Miceal O'Hehir who commentated on hurling from the 1940s to the 1980s.
* shicker or shickered: drunk (adjective or noun) (Yiddish shiker 'drunk', from
Hebrew šikkōr) (OED)
* shiksa or shikse: (often derogatory) a young non-Jewish woman (Yiddish
‫ שיקסע‬shikse, a derivative of the above ‫ שײגעץ‬sheygets) (AHD)
* shmendrik: a foolish or contemptible person (from a character in an
operetta by Abraham Goldfaden) (OED)
* shtetl: a small town with a large Jewish population in pre-Holocaust
Eastern Europe (Yiddish ‫ שטעטל‬shtetl 'town', diminutive of ‫ שטאָ ט‬shtot 'city';
cf. German Städtl, South German / Austrian colloquial diminutive of Stadt,
city) (AHD)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* shtick: comic theme; a defining habit or distinguishing feature (from Yiddish
‫ שטיק‬shtik 'piece'; cf. German Stück 'piece') (AHD)
* shtup: vulgar slang, to have intercourse (from Yiddish ‫" שטוּפ‬shtoop" 'push,'
'poke,' or 'intercourse') (OED)
* spiel or shpiel: a sales pitch or speech intended to persuade (from Yiddish
‫ שּפיל‬shpil 'play' or German Spiel 'play') (AHD)
* tchotchke: knickknack, trinket, curio (from Yiddish ‫ צאַ צקע‬tsatske, ‫טשאַ טשקע‬
tshatshke, from obsolete Polish czaczko) (OED, MW)
* tref or trayf or traif: not kosher (Yiddish treyf, from Hebrew ṭərēfā 'carrion')
(AHD)
* tzimmes: a sweet stew of vegetables and fruit; a fuss, a confused affair, a
to-do (Yiddish ‫ צימעס‬tsimes) (OED, MW)
* tsuris: troubles (from Yiddish ‫ צרות‬tsores, from Hebrew ‫ צרות‬tsarot
'troubles') (AHD)
* tukhus: buttocks, bottom, rear end (from Yiddish ‫ ּתחת‬tokhes, from Hebrew
‫ תחת‬taḥath 'underneath') (OED)
* tummler: an entertainer or master of ceremonies, especially one who
encourages audience interaction (from Yiddish tumler, from tumlen 'make a
racket'; cf. German (sich) tummeln 'go among people, cavort') (OED, MW)
The Coen Brothers
Some Basic Hebrew and Yiddish (in Preparation for A Serious Man)
* tush (also tushy): buttocks, bottom, rear end (from tukhus) (OED, MW)
* vigorish (also contraction vig): that portion of the gambling winnings held by
the bookmaker as payment for services (probably from Yiddish, from
Russian vyigrysh, winnings) (OED)
* verklempt: choked with emotion (German verklemmt = emotionally
inhibited in a convulsive way; stuck)
* yarmulke: round cloth skullcap worn by observant Jews (from Yiddish
‫ יאַ רמלקע‬yarmlke, from Polish jarmułka, ultimate etymology unclear, possibly
Turkish) (OED, MW, AHD)
* Yekke: (mildly derogatory) a German Jew (Yiddish ‫ יעקע‬Yeke) (OED)
* yenta: a talkative woman; a gossip; a scold (from Yiddish ‫ יענטע‬yente, from
a given name) (OED, MW)
* Yiddish: the Yiddish language (from Yiddish ‫ ייִדיש‬yidish 'Jewish', cf.
German jüdisch) (AHD)
* yontef also yom tov: a Jewish holiday on which work is forbidden, eg. Rosh
Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Pesach (from Yiddish ‫ טוֿב‬-‫ יום‬yontef 'holiday', from
Hebrew ‫ יום טוב‬yōm ṭōv 'good day') (OED)
* yutz: a stupid, clueless person ([1] [2])
* zaftig: plump, chubby, full-figured, as a woman (from Yiddish ‫ זאַ ֿפטיק‬zaftik
'juicy'; cf. German saftig 'juicy') (OED, MW)
The Coen Brothers
"This is the kind of picture you get to make after you've won an Oscar,"
writes Todd McCarthy in Variety. I cannot improve on that. After the
seriously great "No Country for Old Men," the Coen brothers have made
the not greatly serious "A Serious Man," which bears every mark of a labor
of love. . . .
Have I mentioned "A Serious Man" is so rich and funny? This isn't a laughlaugh movie, but a wince-wince movie. Those can be funny, too. The Coens
have found mostly unfamiliar actors, or those like Stuhlbarg, Kind and
Melamed you've seen before, but you're not quite sure where. I imagine
(but do not know) that Joel and Ethan have been kicking this story around
for years, passing time by reminding each other of possible characters,
seeing an actor and observing, "There's our Mrs. Samsky." Their actors
weren't cast, they were preordained.
--Roger Ebert
The Coen Brothers
In 25 years of film-making, Joel and Ethan Coen have established themselves as a
major international voice, a postmodern sensibility overcome with cosmic jokiness.
If No Country for Old Men, in all of its Oscar-winning graveness, was the Coen
brothers movie for those who don't like Coen brothers movies, then A Serious Man
may alienate the newfound viewer base all over again. It is simultaneously their
most personal film - almost autobiographical in its details - and their most muddled,
caught like a hairball in the throat (a frustrated simile they'd appreciate) between
earnestness and mockery. For perhaps the first time in a Coen film outside No
Country we are asked to authentically empathise with a realistic character in a
realistic setting, and yet he and the landscape around him suffer the same
lampooning slings and sardonic tone as the characters of Raising Arizona (1987),
Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1995) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). It's an old
complaint about the Coens, that they cruelly observe their hapless characters as
they would pratfalling ants in an ant farm. But I've always thought their comic spirit,
for better or worse, has been consistent and sharply observed, allowing melancholy
and sensitivity to sneak in naturally like the back-flavours of strong red wine. And
now comes A Serious Man, a sincerely sympathetic portrait of an American family
man in crisis - even as it insults its characters and derides their culture.
--Michael Atkinson, Sight and Sound
The Coen Brothers
So you want to hear a story? I've got one for you. It's about a beleaguered
suburban dad who's got problems in his marriage and goes to see the rabbi
-- actually, a whole sequence of rabbis -- with unsatisfactory results. It's got
an envelope full of money and a glorious 1964 Coupe de Ville in it, both of
which lead to startling and unforeseen consequences. It's got a secret
message, possibly or probably from Hashem (aka God), inscribed on the
teeth of an oblivious goy. This whole story might indeed be a fable about
the way Hashem works in the lives of ordinary people -- or it might be
about a dybbuk, a demonic spirit from ancient Jewish folklore. Then again,
the fable might just be about the disordered, random operations of fate,
and the futile human struggle to understand them. . . .
--Andrew O'Hehir, Salon
The Coen Brothers
One thing is for sure: This story, which comes to us in the form of a movie
called "A Serious Man," is one of the subtlest, darkest and most deceptive
ever spun by Joel and Ethan Coen, its writers, directors and producers. This
is by far the most personal and revealing film the Coens have ever made,
which might not seem like saying much: They're known for creating
mannered, sardonic fictional worlds shaped as much (or more) by film
history as by real life. But in recapturing the vanished realm where they
grew up -- a self-enclosed world of Midwestern Jewish suburbia -- the
Coens have crafted perhaps their most original work, one that presents
itself, early on, as middleweight middle-American domestic comedy before
revealing a strange and secret power that's closer to magic or myth.
--Andrew O'Hehir, Salon
The Coen Brothers
“If not now, when?" the Jewish sage Hillel famously asked, and with "A
Serious Man" the Coen brothers have answered.
Writer-directors Joel and Ethan have seized the opportunity afforded by the
Oscar-winning success of "No Country for Old Men," to make their most
personal, most intensely Jewish film, a pitch-perfect comedy of despair
that, against some odds, turns out to be one of their most universal as well.
--Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
The Coen Brothers