Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014)

The answer might surprise you.

This film takes Hector (Simon Pegg) around the world, in his quest to find and document what happiness is. At first, he embarks upon this quest as a researcher on behalf of his patients, ignoring the deep longing within him that desired to answer for himself. But, as he moved through this journey, he admits that this is as much for him as it is for others.

Warning: spoilers ahead. Just from the title, you’re probably able to guess the course the film takes, but, if you’re interested in the ending not being spoiled, watch the movie before proceeding any further.

My favorite thing about this film was that no external circumstances changed for Hector after he came back. He didn’t go on this epic quest for happiness and come back only to quit his job to start some creative startup. He didn’t sell all of his belongings and take up residence in some far off, exotic land. He didn’t abandon his responsibilities or break up with his girlfriend.

After his quest for happiness, he came back to his life and brought happiness with him.

To me, this is a great example of the “coming of age” story and one that’s incredibly relatable to the viewing public. Most of us can’t put our jobs on hold for months and go trapesing around the world to determine what happiness is like Hector did. And we surely can’t quit our day jobs to pursue our dreams without planning and forethought, like so many do in this type of film.

This was encouraging to me because it was a simple reminder that we, like Hector, can choose happiness in the midst of our normal, everyday lives. We can choose to listen to those around us because listening is loving. We can choose to kick fear in the face and choose happiness even when it’s hard. We can celebrate others and laugh and enjoy, knowing those are the sights and sounds of happiness.

For me, this whimsical film was a perfect reprieve from a busy and stressful week. It’s not the best film, not earthshattering in its cinematography, scripting, or the performances, but it was a pleasure for me to watch. It was a bit of sweetness and encouragement that I needed.

Though this won no awards and wasn’t well received by critics, I hope that more films like this are created that can act as subtle (and not so subtle) reminders to find happiness where we can.

Have you seen Hector and the Search for Happiness?

What do you think happiness is? And how do you find it in your life?

Listen to episodes of The Strategic Whimsy Experiment here: https://apple.co/2DH63Vv.