Héctor y el secreto de la felicidad

This movie is a pure joy to watch and share with others...

In the mood for a film, I stopped by the local art house cinema this afternoon. Of the films on offer, this looked like it might be good, though I didn't know too much about what it was about, and really didn't expect much.

Turned out to be a great film. Funny, poignant, and inspiring all at once. Simon Pegg is terrific as a psychiatrist who experiences a sort of existential crisis, and decides to disrupt his tidy, organize, and predictable life to search for the makings of Happiness. His research produces a collection of Buddhist-like conclusions about what may or may not lead to happiness. Along the way, Pegg's character, Hector, begins to 'live', and we the viewer, if we're paying attention, gain some philosophical insights.

The more I think about this film, the more layers of meaning and nuance I realize were lurking beneath the surface of this thoroughly delightful movie. I left the cinema feeling introspective, inspired, and ...Happy. I was moved to indulge in some of the little things that make me happy: a few bars of Amedei chocolate, a meander through the arboretum, a book of poetry; as well as moved to examine what things in my life lead to happiness, and what things lead to unhappiness.

This is a film I would like to see again, and will likely purchase for my movie library.

But still more than a decent effort to find ones meaning of and in life. I saw someone calling it "Dudes version of Eat Pray Love". That's a funny way of putting it. And it's not that wrong. While it may appear like something more similar to Mr. Mitty (a really good movie about escaping real life in fact, but also finding oneself, through that way), it actually is more like the Julia Roberts movie (or book if you haven't seen the movie).

Simon Pegg is really good in this and he is surrounded by a stellar cast. Maybe watching this after "Gone Girl" will seem a bit weird, but that is up to the viewer to decide. I watched it before, so that didn't affect my experience. A decent story about life and appealing/inspiring to the viewer to maybe do something similar

"Simon Pegg" in a very sophisticated role, is taking us in a journey to discover happiness and its meanings.

The movie starts slowly giving us a brief idea about his life, the complications he faces, and the main motivation to start the search for happiness.

A good thing that you will get an answer, not a direct one, but your inner voice will be satisfied with the definitions given for happiness.

"Simon Pegg" acting is remarkable here, his soul is present in his actions and reactions, which made each scene runs smoothly. All other actors did great and the movie introduced them in a very brief way.

The movie is a very light comedy, you will keep smiling the whole time, and may be laugh out loud in few scenes.

The bad points mainly about the script and the plot, the events run from one point to another very quickly and some of the actions are not justified.

Finally, it's a good light philosophical movie, not comparable to "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", but they can be categorized together. You may feel bored a little bit especially in the first half of it but then enjoyment is guaranteed.

At the time of writing this review, there is a massive absence of films suitable for audience who does not necessarily enjoy titles such as Expendables III or Hercules. If you happen to be one who seeks some deeper meaning in your movie experience, this film is for you. In fact if you are not, you may still find some aspects of the film entertaining enough.

In summary, the main character Hector has some grown up problems and in order to find some closure to his past issues, he takes an epic journey. From a Simon Pegg film, you would expect these journeys to be very funny and light adventures. Sometimes these adventures are indeed funny and light but mostly they are rather serious. Issues faced include midlife crisis, relationship problems, corruption and poverty in Africa, etc. The film has a fast enough phase an it is never boring or depressing, yet it can be both funny and serious at the same time. I believe the film is currently underrated by the IMDb crowd.

If you have watched Simon Pegg films with zombies, aliens or cops and you are looking to find more of the same experience, this film might not satisfy your expectations. This film is a genuine and sometimes lightly philosophical attempt to ponder and think about what makes us human beings happy and satisfied with ourselves.