The Coen brothers to adapt Michael Chabon’s “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” to film
There’s no doubting that Joel and Ethan Coen struck gold with their adaptation of No Country for Old Men. Hell, they might have even struck Oscar gold–we’ll see. The duo originally known for making odd but powerful original films has suddenly become the go-to guys when it comes to modern American classics no one has heard of being changed to fit the big screen. This time, their target happens to be one of my favorite books written by one of my favorite contemporary authors: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon.
The book is an alternate history where Jewish people relocated to Alaska during the Holocaust. Once there, though, the US government decides they’d like to boot them out, in order to let the indigenous people have their land back. Amidst all of THAT is a murder mystery, which is the main story of the book. Basically, it involves a lot of flashbacks and detective work, and connections between characters are formed which you never even began to imagine. In other words, it’s a perfect source for the Coen’s.
Hopefully, if Yiddish Policemen’s Union does well we’ll see more of Chabon’s books hit the big screen. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, anyone?
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