'A Serious Man' is dark, depressing

 A SERIOUS MAN

2 and a half stars

Rated R

Filmmaking brothers Joel and Ethan Coen (“Burn After Reading,” “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men”) explore their Jewish roots in their most personal film to date. You don’t have to be Jewish to appreciate the subtle ethnic humor, but it wouldn’t hurt.

The movie opens with a Yiddish fable taking place in a 19th-century Polish shtetl that will turn off some viewers immediately. A peasant couple is visited by an evil spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person. This short prologue has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. The screen goes dark.

A golden ring appears and takes us time traveling to the meaningless and insignificant existence in 1967 of the Gopnik family living in suburban Midwest tract house anonymity. The patriarch, Larry (Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg), is a college physics professor on the verge of attaining tenure. His son, Danny (Aaron Wolf), is preparing for his bar mitzvah. He is disciplined in Hebrew school for listening through his earpiece to the Jefferson Airplane song “Somebody to Love” playing on his transistor radio. He sticks a $20 bill in the radio’s cover which he owes a classmate bully for a bag of marijuana. The radio is confiscated and plays a key role in the movie.

Larry’s wife, Judith (Sari Lennick), wants both a ritual and civil divorce. She has started seeing widower Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed). Larry’s daughter, Sarah (Jessica McManus), is stealing money from his wallet and saving it for a nose job. She demands more bathroom time. Larry’s inept and unemployable brother, Arthur (Richard Kind from “Mad About You” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), is living on the couch and constantly draining his cyst in the toilet.

Larry is bribed at school by a disgruntled South Korean student wanting a passing grade and threatened with a defamation lawsuit by the father. Larry also gets confrontational with his gentile neighbor over property lines.

Larry repeatedly utters, “I haven’t done anything.” He seeks spiritual advice from three rabbis as the problems pile up.

The Coen brothers take delight in sticking psychological pins in this voodoo doll-like character. Except for a beautiful neighbor (Amy Landecker) who sunbathes in the nude, the relatively unknown cast is purposely depicted as unattractive. The insular lifestyle of work, school and synagogue goes against the grain of many Jews who have assimilated in the modern world.

The movie is dark, depressing and surreal. Some may find it an offensive indictment of religion with more questions than answers about human existence and the meaning of life.

You would not give these invisible cellophane characters a second look if they passed you on the street. The nebbish nobody at the center doesn’t usually deserve more than a small supporting role in most movies. The Coen boys are hoping that the domestic themes presented are universal and not specific to any ethnic group.General audiences may find the material less accessible and feel like they are at the opening night of a Jewish film festival.

The chanting from the Torah and the Hebrew prayers make it seem like you’re sitting in a synagogue. None of the anecdotal ideas go into any depth and there is no resolution to this “slice of life” family drama. The visual gags are repetitive and the “F-bombs” are overused.

The movie gets points for its unique script. The period accoutrements from the clothing, hairstyles and interior designs are right on target. The movie even shows a vintage TV segment from “F-Troop.”

The most recognizable faces are Adam Arkin (“Chicago Hope”) and Michael Lerner (“Barton Fink”) playing lawyers. A better alternative to this unsettling, angst-ridden bleakness is to rent the first six seasons of the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” The Coen brothers could learn a lot from the brilliant wit of “Seinfeld” creator Larry David. He knows funny and takes a reverential pride in his Jewish heritage.

Now playing at AMC Studio 30, Glenwood Arts and the Tivoli in Westport.

THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX

3 stars

Rated R

This epic political drama from Germany was one of the five finalists for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. It is a comprehensive and detailed historical account of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in West Germany, led by Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu from “Munich” and “Taking Sides”), Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck from “The Good Shepherd,” “Mostly Martha” and “The Lives of Others”) and Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek). Their pernicious and persistent terrorist tactics disrupted the peace and wrought havoc in the name of political freedom.

Based on a book by Stefan Aust, the movie is directed by Uli Edel, who co-wrote the screenplay with Bernd Eichinger (“Downfall” and “Perfume”). This docudrama begins in summer 1967 and ends in fall 1977.

With a running time of 2½ hours, the viewer desperately needs an intermission to take a breather from being bombarded with so much information in one sitting. It is an overwhelming challenge to read the lengthy subtitles, keep track of all the characters and watch what is happening on a busy screen. The television mini-series version in Germany added an additional 30 minutes.

There is an abrupt introduction of the major characters, who determine that words of protest are not enough to bring about change. One key component is the number of women involved in this extremist group. They are more fervent and willing to take chances as an outcry against the men who are in power and running the machine of government.

The movie is dry and emotionless with very little dialogue about why the participants are so devoted to the cause. There is very little character development. The movie is full of violent criminal action with a bloody street riot, bomb explosions, kidnappings, bank robberies and assassinations. The movie also has sexual content and graphic female nudity. The movie opens with two naked young girls playing in the sand on a nude beach.

The gang of hoodlums goes from riding high with loud music, fast cars, revolvers and wild parties to hopelessness in prison after becoming Germany’s most wanted criminals.

Horst Herold (Bruno Ganz, who played Hitler in “Downfall” and the law professor in “The Reader”) heads up the relentless German police pursuit of these young and spirited anarchists. Non-history buffs will recognize the tie-in to the 1972 Munich Olympics. Black September took the Israeli team hostage and demanded the release of more than 230 Palestinians and other prisoners. Baader, Meinhof and Ennslin were on the list.

Actual newsreel footage and newspaper headlines are sprinkled throughout the screenplay to add authenticity to this amazing true story. The acting is top drawer and everyone behind the camera is technically proficient with a workmanlike approach. The monumental task of editing by Alexander Berner deserves special mention.

The movie was nominated for German Film Awards in the categories of direction, editing, outstanding feature film and lead actress (Wokalek). The dialogue is primarily in German with a little French, Swedish and English.

Now playing exclusively for a limited engagement at the Tivoli in Westport.

AMREEKA

2 and a half stars

Rated PG-13

A divorced Palestinian mother and her teenage son immigrate to a small Midwestern town in Illinois shortly after the invasion of Iraq. Writer-director Cherien Dabis makes an impressive feature-film debut. The title is the Arabic word for America.

Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour) is the overweight heroine who wants a better life for her son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem). She idealistically views America as the promised land where her son can attend college with better job prospects.

Despite two degrees and 10 years of banking experience, Muna ends up working at White Castle. Her son gets in a fight after being labeled a terrorist.

Hiam Abbass (“Lemon Tree” and “The Visitor”) plays Muna’s sister Raghda. Muna and Fadi move in with Raghda and her family. Raghda, who has lived with her physician husband in America for 15 years, tells her sister the homesick feeling never goes away. A metaphorical comparison is made to “a tree pulled out by its roots and placed elsewhere” that doesn’t grow.

The movie is insightful in its depiction of Palestinian suffering and the insensitivity of the United States. Faour is very appealing in the lead role, making great use of her hope-filled eyes. Muallem transforms his character before our eyes from a sweet and shy boy to a tough kid standing up for his mother. He gets exposed to slang phrases, marijuana and the right clothing to wear in an effort to assimilate. It makes the viewer wince and feel ashamed of racial stereotyping in our post-9/11 environment.

The message of never judging a book by its cover rings true.

The movie debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and Dabis won the Directors Fortnight Award at the Cannes Film Festival.  The dialogue is partially in Arabic with English subtitles.

Now playing exclusively at the Glenwood Arts.

Top 5 Flick Picks

1. Capitalism: A Love Story

2. Law Abiding Citizen

3. The Baader Meinhof Complex

4. Amreeka

5. The Invention of Lying

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