Happy

Loved the topic but don't be fooled by the clear bias that just gets stronger and stronger with this movie. (Opinions are like derrieres, everyone has one) but to present this as a documentary and not own the fact that it promotes certain things and dismisses others is to lower it's credibility.

Here's my bias: Liberty is a moral imperative. -and it's not for the government to decide for people what will or will not make them happy because eventually, they will use their power to impose it on everyone. This is what is so wrong with Marxism, Socialism et al. The collective notion that if it's good for one person, it must be good for all. (That's a lie too, because it's usually only good for the people who are trying to subjugate and enslave others.) It takes a while for this movie to show it's bias but show it, it does: Religion, bad. Communes, good. And many more. For any film to ignore the matter of free will, individual choice and the ability to make those personal decisions about what one choosed to pursue and how he will spend his time, is to ignore an essential quality for happiness.

Not that part of this film weren't moving. The woman who surmounted getting run over by a car was incredibly moving, but the ingredients for happiness are not the same for everyone, yet this film has a collectivist bias. Being free enough to discover what is important in one's life is part of the joy of living. This movie may either intentionally or unintentionally promote the notion that the recipe is the same for everyone. Just do as I say!

Warning: The spoiler is in the title. This is my first IMDb Review and I will keep it brief, as those before me did a great job summarizing the nuts and bolts of the Film. I am not a movie fanatic (by any stretch), however, if you knew me, you would KNOW that I would probably not publish a film review; much less, on a film titled, "Happy".

In my opinion, I am not "grumpy" but "Happy" really brought a smile to my face. Reason being, the film is 110% accurate; I cannot say that about much of anything these days but "pure", "fresh", and "authentic" (along with, the aforementioned, "accurate") ruminate in my head as brief descriptors. It is well worth the seventy-five (75) minute run time, guaranteed.

In closing, this film is not what I expected it to be (I rated it a 10 out of 10) but much, much more. For this I am grateful (and happy). Enjoy!

This is a movie where the subject matter is far more important than the quality of the movie itself (which is good). Had I received messages like this when I was young, I am sure I would have made fewer mistakes.

Young persons understand that happiness is a life goal but they are often confused among conflicting messages on how to get there. By illustrating those who have achieved happiness as well as those who have not, the movie could potentially be very useful in helping young people make responsible and fulfilling life choices.

So hopefully this little movie will be recognized as a motivational tool for the young and used in our classrooms and in other venues where teens might be receptive to its message.

While I enjoyed some of this film, a couple of things bothered me. Judging from the narrator speaking English, the audience of this film was primarily people who speak English. It is inexcusable in 2011 to not have interpretation either with voice over or subtitles of the non-English portions. Glad the people from India, Okinawa, and other non-English speaking people spoke to the cameras. It might have been useful to know what you were talking about.

The other thing that concerned me was the likelihood of the ultra rich to say "we don't need to pay you a living wage. It won't make you any happier anyway." They only briefly mention "once basic needs are met". So I can see this film joining the fake theory of trickle down economics to become part of the "arguments of justification: used by that group to explain to themselves why it's OK to holding on to more and more of the wealth.

I'm going to leave out my overall feelings about this movie but WHY would you spend so much time interviewing people in Japan and then NOT INTERPRET IT! There is no close captioning or interpretation of what they are saying at all. That's a lot of wasted time and material.