This is probably one of the most hermetic, personal and autobiographical films that the Coen Brothers have ever presented. Many people find it boring. I understand and I can even agree but I also believe that I understand, at least in part, what the directors wanted to tell us.There is a lot of common between the Coen's and Barton Fink, an idealistic intellectual Jew who idolizes ordinary people and, therefore, cannot see how stupid they are (the Coen's can). Suddenly, Fink is hired to write the script for a mediocre B movie about pugilism. The kind of movie ordinary people pay to see even today. Of course the script, by an intellectual full of ideals, would never be useful in these kind of film because Fink didn't know how to adapt himself to the task. He is far above ordinary men to realize what they want to see and that is why he would never please them. This is not just with Fink: today, the majority of people don't like theatre or art because it has become too elitist and intellectual to appeal the masses (taking theatre and the arts as an example, we can still think of classical music or even cinema).From this point of view, this film is deeply intelligent: it starts out as a very intellectual and hermetic film which will make the most idiotic audience flee from the theater and, then, it gradually becomes more "normal" through action and violence. Even so, it always contains some intellectuality, through elements and moments that the film never bother to explain (the importance and content of the box that Fink receives near the end, for example, a thing that left me confused and curious). Its as if the film, even making an effort to adapt itself, never ceased to be what it really is. In the midst of it all, I enjoyed the work of Turturro, which gave life to the protagonist. He knew how to make his character naive and dreamy. Fink sometimes seems so oblivious to the world around him that he seems to be stoned. What counts for him is the world he has inside his head. Very interesting, but difficult to swallow for commercial audiences.

This movie leaves me cold. Fink (John Turturro) is a one-hit playwright who wants to produce great plays about "the dignity of common man," ala Clifford Odets, but is enticed to go to Hollywood and write a screenplay for a Wallace Berry-type wrestling movie. The job of writing this screenplay seems simple to the Hollywood producer: Just write it! But, Fink is a perfectionist with no new ideas; he merely sits alone in his hotel room looking at the blank sheet of paper in his typewriter—writers block. John Goodman plays Finks' strange neighbor from an adjoining room in the hotel. As I say, this movie DOES leave me cold. Actually, it just depressed me. Is it just another self- parody on Hollywood.

Ever since the day those brave pioneers came out west from the east coast with dreams of sunshine and perfect weather conditions for making movies, that ideal known as Hollywood (not the place, but the state of mind) has dashed many hopes and dreams. Whether it be for the phoniness of the people, lack of artistic respect of how movies are made and the absence of creative aspects has turned off many artists. Writers have exposed the shady world of filmmaking, both in California and abroad, and when Hollywood does it and gets away with it, it is practically a work of genius.Praised playwright John Turturro finds that Broadway success make him wanted buy the biggest movie studio in Hollywood and when he arrives, he's fine he has been given a story he has no passion about. Struggling to find ideas in a dilapidated Beach Hotel, he meets wacky neighbor John Goodman (who turns out to be quite off the beam), finds a hopeful mentor in alcoholic author John Mahoney and falls in love with Mahoney's younger mistress/secretary, Judy Davis. Slowly but surely, Turturo finds out how Hollywood works behind the scenes, hiding scandal, building and breaking careers (and hearts), and ultimately how profit is more important than artistic integrity. Oh, and don't forget about the mysterious box that Goodman leaves behind.An excellent cast walks around a very avant garde set (which got a well deserved Oscar nomination) as if they were in an ongoing dream state. The hallway set alone in the hotel is worthy of that honor. Oscar nominated Michael Lerner plays the flamboyant but crude studio head, with Tony Shalhoub outrageous as well as the talent scout who becomes his adviser. Steve Buscemi also steals scenes as the hotel clerk dressed in bellboy attire. While Lerner is excellent, I would have preferred the Oscar nomination go to Goodman, then very successful on T.V.'s "Roseanne". For those who have gone to Hollywood hoping for some sort of success in film, whether it be in front of the camera or behind the scenes, it is a revelation especially if you have decided want you got there that it's not worth the destruction of your ethics. I am one of those who thought of a career as a film editor but unwilling to compromise my personal standards decided to remain a fan of the movies from afar. Like "Sunset Boulevard", "The Bad and the Beautiful", "The Big Knife" and others, this doesn't ask for apologies for biting the hand that feeds it, and in the end, got applause for taking a chunk out. It might not be for all tastes (as are most Cohen films), but artists should totally check it out.

Barton Fink is an artist's movie. It is about artists, inventors, and people who "create" for a living. I so believe it appeals to these kind of people in turn. Not that it is inaccessible; many movies written and directed by The Coen brothers over the years are insular to some degree, but Barton Fink is one of the more challenging tales that tends to be a love it or hate it kind of experience. It sets up symbols and allegories that are meant to be funny and serious at the same time. This is also one of my favorite movies, and a lot of that comes from the fact that I agree with a lot of what The Coen Brothers are talking about. Barton Fink is the first of the intellectual trilogy of films they directed, the others being A Serious Man (2009) and finalizing with Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).John Turturro stars as Barton Fink and is amazing to watch perform. To get inside a character like this, I find the actor usually has the opposite traits as a real person, hence I believe him to be someone who is humble and unselfish in reality unlike his counterpart as a character here. Turturro is one of the most underrated actors of our times, simultaneously being able to play the biggest nerd or the biggest bully.The enigmatic film is based in the 1940's and is very much a satire on mainstream Hollywood filmmaking. At the same time however, it is pretentious for the sake of being pretentious, and includes random scenes thrown in just to do so, ergo making fun of itself. The best art movies have to know that the process of making cinema is a little silly, and Barton Fink is a very self-aware kind of film. Eraserhead, Repulsion, Persona, Adaptation- look at these films and you'll realize Barton Fink is the equal of them, a writer's block infused storyline disguising a higher meaning.Truly existential questions are asked throughout Fink's Journey: What is reality? Does the devil really exist? Will the hero of the story get the girl, or is their love doomed? Should the studio literally and figuratively kiss artist's feet? Well, you see what you want to see. It is a very laid back film, it does not force its opinions on you.To say the Coen Bros. are all style and no substance is ridiculous, yet I hear it all the time. People need to respect the style and courage in which they make films, they are perhaps the best directors we have got these days. Barton Fink is the oddest movie they have made to be sure, but it serves as their own personal allegory of misplacement in the world. It holds the record to this day as the only film ever to win all top 3 prizes at Cannes Film Festival held in Paris every year, which is the most respected film festival worldwide. This fact alone means it is one of the best films of all time, but why is it so divisive among viewers? To watch a movie this free and spirited is to truly feel alive. I recommend this movie to anyone who thinks movies are more than just mere entertainment but something to ponder over your whole lifetime.