2. 职称英语
  3. "If not now, when?" the Jewish sage Hillel famously asked, and with "A Seri

"If not now, when?" the Jewish sage Hillel famously asked, and with "A Seri

游客2023-09-07  203
问题      "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.
     Set in a very specific time and place—the Jewish community in suburban Minneapolis circa 1967—that closely echoes the Coens’ own background, "A Serious Man" is a memory piece re-imagined through the darkest possible lens. Yet the more the man of the title suffers the torments of Job, the more he tries to deal with the unknowability of the usual willfully absurd and decidedly hostile Coen universe, the more we’re encouraged to wonder if this isn’t just the tiniest bit funny. And the more real the pain becomes, the more, in a quintessentially Jewish way, laughter becomes our only serious option.
     The serious man in question is Larry Gopnik (Tony-nominated actor Michael Stuhlbarg), a university professor who’s up for tenure in physics. Married with two children and the standard suburban house, he’s always tried to live up to expectations, tried to be the best person he can, so he’s totally unprepared when every aspect of his life begins to collapse in a slow-motion riot.
     On one level—actually, on many levels—"A Serious Man" is not exactly a happy story, but one of the things that make it as involving as it is the formidable filmmaking skill the Coens have honed in more than 25 years of collaboration. "A Serious Man" is rife with specific Jewish references, like the great cantor Yossele Rosenblatt.
     Doing their own editing and working with such regulars as cinematographer Roger Deakins, costume designer Mary Zophres, composer Carter Burwell, the Coens have so exactly made the film they envisioned that it is hard not to be drawn in. Working largely with unfamiliar actors, their trademark blurring of the line between serious and comic has never been as artfully done as it is here.
     Yet it’s impossible to watch Larry Gopnik’s travails(辛劳) without feeling that they will speak to everyone who has been battered(打击) and blindsided by life’s tormenting crises and wonders why. By being so site-specific, the Coens have broadened their reach and expanded their touch. "I’ve tried to be a serious man. I’ve tried to do right," Gopnik laments more than once. Haven’t we all, this unexpected film, at once comic and haunting, asks. Haven’t we all?  [br] From the first paragraph, we can learn that ______.
选项 A、Coen brothers have succeeded in making one of the most universal Jewish films
B、A Serious Man’ has gained the most popularity as expected
C、A Serious Man’ has been considered as an Oscar-winning success
D、Coen brothers have combined comedy with tragedy for his film
答案 A
解析 根据题干关键词first paragraph定位到原文第一段第二句：... 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．可知Coen兄弟拍摄的反映犹太人的电影在种种不利的情况下依然广受关注，故选A项。
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