Director Joel Coen, shown at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, returns to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Monday to shoot A Serious Man. (Evan Agostini/Associated Press)

Oscar winners Joel and Ethan Coen begin shooting their next film, A Serious Man, on Monday at a cafe in Roseville, Minn.

It's the first film they've shot in their home state since 1996's Fargo, the low-budget thriller that became a huge international hit.

Fargo won Oscars for best screenplay and actress Frances McDormand, and the Coens went on to bigger budget filmmaking, including Oscar winner No Country for Old Men.

The Coens are again returning to dark comedy with A Serious Man, the story of a professor whose wife leaves him because his inept brother won't move out of the house.

It sets out to recreate 1967 in a Minneapolis-St. Paul neighbourhood similar to the one in which they grew up.

"It's not about whether there are stars in it or whether it's a huge production," said producer Eric Fellner in an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"It's a wonderful story which they will tell in a unique way. If someone said we want to make A Serious Man as a $100-million US movie, you'd think twice. But when you cut your cloth to fit the budget, which is way less than they usually work on, it makes sense."

A Serious Man, with a budget of less than $20 million US, stars Richard Kind and Michael Stuhlbarg.

The Coens were at the Toronto International Film Festival last week promoting Burn After Reading, starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich.

With files from the Associated Press