A Serious Man

Brody 2022-03-23 09:01:48

University physics teacher Larry wrote a blackboard full of formulas and icons, turned around and told his students proudly that Schrödinger's cat had just been pushed out. Although Larry is a member of the Jewish community, he does not actually believe in God very much. God is sometimes just his spiritual sustenance when he is depressed. He prefers to use a blackboard calculation to calculate his life, as if everything can be answered. Accidents in life are nothing more than the remainder of hundreds of years of computer programs running. Ironically, Schrödinger's cat is the famous experiment in quantum mechanics that explains the uncertainty and randomness of the world. Is the fate of the universe determined by necessity or by chance? Are there hidden variables in the world we live in? Does God throw dice again?

Although the film does not have the murder plot that the Coen brothers are used to in previous movies, they used the superimposed method of nonsensical incidents that they are good at on Larry, making us feel that this man is pitiful. The sophistication of cash bribes by North Korean students, the bizarre behavior of his brother's singing in the middle of the night, the aggressive expressions of the neighbor's father and son, the pressure of promotion and the anonymous whistleblower letter that comes with it, and the methodical infidelity of his wife, it's all to Larry's " A straw has been placed on the belief that everything can be calculated. He still couldn't figure out why, he had always wanted to be a serious man, but he couldn't, realized that his destiny was starting to fail, so he asked God for help. God is sometimes invisible, and sometimes he can only be told to "perceive" to enjoy, or to preach a set of agnosticism that even the preacher himself does not understand. And the straw on Larry's body was getting heavier and heavier.

What does "Serious Man" want to say, in fact, the little story at the beginning of the film has already given the answer. Is the old man dead or alive? When you wake up the next day, will the old man lie down in a pool of blood, or disappear without a trace? It seems that you will only know until you wake up the next day, and at this moment, the old man is in a random state of being dead or alive, or they are in two parallel universes at all, the one that has been around since the Big Bang. Constantly mitotic parallel universes. What should the husband and wife do at this time, maybe they should lie down and get a good night's sleep. "Be comfortable with whatever happens to you - Rush".

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A Serious Man quotes

  • Rabbi Scott: No, of course not. I am the junior rabbi. And it's true, the point-of-view of somebody who's older and perhaps had similar problems might be more valid. And you should see the senior rabbi as well, by all means. Or even Minda if you can get in, he's quite busy. But maybe - can I share something with you? Because I too have had the feeling of losing track of Hashem, which is the problem here. I too have forgotten how to see Him in the world. And when that happens you think, well, if I can't see Him, He isn't there any more, He's gone. But that's not the case. You just need to remember how to see Him. Am I right?

    [He rises and goes to the window]

    Rabbi Scott: I mean, the parking lot here. Not much to see. It is a different angle on the same parking lot we saw from the Hebrew school window. But if you imagine yourself a visitor, somebody who isn't familiar with these... autos and such... somebody still with a capacity for wonder... Someone with a fresh... perspective. That's what it is, Larry.

    Larry Gopnik: Um...

    Rabbi Scott: Because with the right perspective you can see Hashem, you know, reaching into the world. He is in the world, not just in shul. It sounds to me like you're looking at the world, looking at your wife, through tired eyes. It sounds like she's become a sort of... thing... a problem... a thing...

    Larry Gopnik: Well, she's, she's seeing Sy Ableman.

    Rabbi Scott: Oh.

    Larry Gopnik: She's, they're planning, that's why they want the Gett.

    Rabbi Scott: Oh. I'm sorry.

    Larry Gopnik: It was his idea.

    Rabbi Scott: Well, they do need a Gett to remarry in the faith. But this is life. For you too. You can't cut yourself off from the mystical or you'll be-you'll remain-completely lost. You have to see these things as expressions of God's will. You don't have to like it, of course.

    Larry Gopnik: The boss isn't always right, but he's always the boss.

    Rabbi Scott: Ha-ha-ha! That's right, things aren't so bad. Look at the parking lot, Larry.

    [Rabbi Scott gazes out, marveling]

    Rabbi Scott: Just look at that parking lot.

  • Larry Gopnik: She seems to be asking an awful lot. But then, I don't know. Somebody has to pay for Sy's funeral.

    Rabbi Nachtner: Uh-huh.

    Larry Gopnik: His own estate is in probate, but why does it have to be me? Or is it wrong to complain? Judy says it is. But I'm so strapped for cash right now, carrying the mortgage, and paying for the Jolly Roger, and I wrecked the car, and Danny's Bar Mitzvah coming up, I...

    Rabbi Nachtner: Something like this... there's never a good time.

    Larry Gopnik: I don't know where it all leaves me, Sy's death. Obviously it's not gonna go back like it was.

    Rabbi Nachtner: Mm. Would you even want that, Larry?

    Larry Gopnik: No, I- well, yeah... sometimes... or... I don't know; I guess the honest answer is "I don't know". What was my life before? Not what I thought it was. What does it all mean? What is Hashem trying to tell me, making me pay for Sy Ableman's funeral?

    Rabbi Nachtner: Mm.

    Larry Gopnik: And did I tell you I had a car accident the same time Sy had his? The same instant, for all I know. I mean, is Hashem telling me that Sy Ableman is me? Or that we are all one, or something?

    Rabbi Nachtner: How does God speak to us? A good question.