Hector and the Search for Happiness

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While this film is well made and engaging to be sure, my feeling toward it the morning after seeing it is exasperation. Hector's remedy for his existential disillusionment seems to be high-end tourism. (I suspect that this was planned so that the film makers could charge travel to all those attractive tourist destinations to a film budget.) After his journey of self discovery, he goes back to the same superfluous, phony "shrink" gig that so dissatisfied him before. Somehow his experiences rehabilitate his illusions instead of moving him beyond them. He now loves his own self-centeredness as Winston Smith loved Big Brother. His journey also somehow persuades his girl friend to be a more wifely, less liberated help-meet. "Let them eat cake" should have been one of the clichés Hector wrote in his journal!

Simon Pegg was a brilliant choice for this movie and the whole film is almost perfect as reflected in my rating. Based on a book, the script is pretty bloody good and, while I am usually not a fan of touchy-feely wisdom-on-a-cup kind of things, I really enjoyed the movie. OK, sometimes it was a little bit too heavy handed and I believe that choosing an actor for the lead that didn't have Pegg's silly happy funny face could have doomed this film. As such, I wonder how have I not heard of this movie? Why is everyone talking about superheroes and no one about this film? Is it just because it is not an American film? I thought that the script juggled very well with the viewers expectations. Then there are Jean Reno's role, Rosamund Pike's - especially after Gone Girl, I know that this movie comes first, but the result of watching it now is quite unexpected - and, of course, Christopher Plummer - may he live forever. Quite small, but perfect in their value to the story. Bottom line: watch the film. It can't hurt and it can really help. Give it a try. It's not a new age hum and meditate thing, it's ... real? It feels so.

A psychiatrist in need of...therapy. Hector seems to have the perfect life. A good job, an amazing girlfriend, an orderly life. Yet, something seems to be missing. Though a successful psychiatrist, he struggles to advice his clients as to what makes one happy. So, he decides to travel the world in order to find out what happiness is. His journey takes him to Asia, Africa and the States in a whirlwind of experiences not to mention new found knowledge and wisdom. On the hole, it is a pleasant and cheerful experience. In a way, Hector speaks for many of us who wish we could just drop everything and get on a plane so that we can find ourselves. He searches for happiness, which is so complex and means different things to different people. A worthwhile experience for the seekers out there.

Hector is a forty something psychiatrist with an enviable life. He has a beautiful apartment, a gorgeous girlfriend who does everything for him, and a thriving, although according to the voice-over, under charged practice. But he's not happy, which may have something to do with the decades old picture of an ex girlfriend that he hides in his sock drawer. So in order to find out what makes people happy he takes off on a around the world trip in search of the intangible. Part travelogue, part comedy, and part pathos, the film never seems to come together despite a few good moments. Perhaps it is because it is trying to be too many things at once. Simon Pegg attempts to hold together a film that seems at best an exercise in navel gazing, but despite his ability to make us root for his everyman character the film just doesn't click. Not a complete disappointment but not something I would run out and see again.

From PASTO, COLOMBIA-Via: L. A. CA; CALI, COLOMBIA+ORLANDO, FL The ONLY Tony Kiss Castillo on FaceBook! ..................................... Recently, one of our students recommended this film to us. Thank you ever so much, Gloria! Did not look at the IMDb.com page until AFTER viewing! As the end credits appeared on the screen, the first thing that crossed my mind was "Who could hate this movie?" Well, apparently 3% of the viewing public seems to be allergic to feel good movies! Yes: IMDb says that 3% of viewers rated "SEARCH" at only 1, 2 or 3 Stars! If you feel you might fall into this category, heed my warning above! Simon Pegg was, perhaps, the main reason I decided to follow through on Gloria's recommendation. Pleasantly surprised, is what I got! SEARCH is a great vehicle for him to showcase an on screen presence that, at least, I had never seen before! SEARCH was released in 2014, when Pegg was 44Here, he seems to be maturing, in the best sense of the word! Rosamund Pike, in a role she turned in shortly before Gone Girl, seems to be the successful wife, secretly insecure, who really despises being taking for granted. SEARCH boasts a number of seasoned, well-known actors in supporting roles: Stellan Skarsgard is the Uber rich and successful German businessman, coasting through life; Jean Reno is the drug kingpin who develops a conscience, Cristopher Plummer is the self- help guru author who seemingly has inspired Pegg's character; Ming Zhao iswell, we'll let you figure that one out! SEARCH, throughout most of its nearly 2 hours, manages to present us with relatively believable situations that avoid arm-wrestling with our innate suspension of disbelief. When I mentioned finding it difficult to imagine viewers hating this filmI really meant it. Give SEARCH a tryI'm sure you won't be disappointed! 8*.....ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

I'd decided on the title for this review before I learnt that the source material was a French novel. That explains a great deal. Hector and the... is a deeply felt, funny, moving, insightful and whimsical look at how we (fail to) make the best of life. The film makes its points adroitly, avoiding (sometimes barely but a miss is as good as a mile)maudlin sentimentality. It's liberally sprinkled with perfect one-liners, acute observations and star cameos but the glue that holds the whole thing together is the relationship between Hector and his girlfriend. It's heartrendingly real. The version that I watched was a full ten minutes shorter than the original runtime and I'd guess that the few dots that failed to join up as needed were a result of that USA audience edit. Another guess would lead me to give the full length cut an eight rather than a seven. Here's the deal. It's a feel-good movie for which you won't need a supply of sick bags. By the end, I felt... happier. Really!