Which 2009 film by Joel and Ethan Coen includes Danny Gopnik’s bar mitzvah?

A Serious Man is the 2009 film by Joel and Ethan Coen that includes Danny Gopnik’s bar mitzvah.

The dark comedy is set mainly in 1967 suburban Minnesota and follows Larry Gopnik, a physics professor facing professional, marital, and personal uncertainty. His son Danny is preparing for his bar mitzvah while spending much of his time listening to popular music and trying to navigate school problems.

Danny’s ceremony occurs near the end of the film and brings together several of its recurring concerns: family duty, religious authority, moral uncertainty, and the difficulty of finding clear explanations for suffering. The bar mitzvah is therefore both a family event and an important narrative milestone.

The film was written and directed by the Coen brothers and received two Academy Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture of the Year. It is not a conventional celebratory comedy like Keeping Up with the Steins.