"A Serious Man", dir. Ethan and Joel Coen, 2009.

A black comedy by the unparalleled Coen Brothers, loosely based on the biblical story of Job. The story of an “ordinary man”, Larry Gopnik, whose life has foundered, and who has decided to find the cause of his misfortune. It turns out, however, that the world is he faced with is that of an illogical, nightmarish childhood, and any attempt to fight against it won’t ward off the impeding catastrophe.

The film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards.

Polish subtitles.

Tickets – 5 PLN, 15 PLN combined ticket.

Rites of Passage. A review of films about coming of age.

The films included in this selection seem at first glance to have nothing in common: their subject matter, genre, country and date of production all differ. Yet all address the issue of maturing, as related to the embracement of one’s Jewish identity – maturing with history in the background, in both the individual and the collective dimension, freely or by force.

The review accompanies the seminar Do we mature and when? in the Believe in the Museum? series.

Within the framework of the cycle we will show:

November 6, 7 pm – Świadectwo urodzenia (Birth Certificate), dir. S. Różewicz, 1961

November 13, 7 pm – Lebanon, dir. Samuel Maoz, 2009

November 20, 7 pm – Sanatorium pod klepsydrą (Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass), dir. Wojciech Has, 1973

Supported by Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland