Pursuing Happiness

Producer-director Adam Shell and co-producer Nicholas Kraft hit the road in America to try to discover the secret of happiness. What makes people happy, and how do they stay that way? Traveling from city to city, they find answers that largely overlap. An array of experts in the mental health and self-help fields also offer their opinions on what promotes happiness: from altruism to welcoming the opportunities presented every day, from taking adversity and physical limits as reminders that our time on Earth is limited and should not be wasted, to believing that the emotional energy we spend will draw similar energy back. But the most interesting material here is from the regular folks the filmmakers meet: a likeable young lawyer dying of stage IV colon cancer; a Pittsburgh painter who converted an entire building (and the lot it sits on) into a dreamscape of color and playful artifacts; a couple of guys building little benches for tired pedestrians to sit on (with shelves for books to borrow); and a man with no hands raising his daughter alone. These people cherish what they have, and their focus on others gives them a reason to look forward and not be trapped by obstacles or grudging fantasies of what might have been. An uplifting documentary, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)