“HAPPY” My rating: B- (Opens Sept. 16 at the Tivoli)
75 minutes | No MPAA rating
Early in the documentary “Happy” we get a quote from Benjamin Franklin to the effect that while the Declaration of Independence guarantees our right to pursue happiness, actually catching happiness is up to us.
Roko Belic’s film examines human happiness, where it comes from, how people have gained and preserved it, the circumstances under which it seems to flourish.
Belic interviews scientists and psychologists and religious leaders who have specialized in the study of happiness, and their comments about the emotion’s source (nature vs. nurture, dopamine levels, etc.) are enlightening.
Far more effective though, are the man-in-the-street examples Belic has found all over the world, from a sixty-something South American surfer to Okinawan villagers who lead blissful lives well into their 100s.
The film takes us to Japan, where workers are routinely so exhausted and stressed out that a new word has been coined for death by overwork, and then to the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan where government leaders have made beefing up the GNP (Gross National Product) secondary to increasing the GNH (Gross National Happiness).
We visit a Danish commune where people of all ages and backgrounds fashion a mostly stress-free environment simply by routinely looking out for one another. (It’s been scientifically measured…Denmark is the happiest country on Earth.) We spend time with the bushmen of Africa’s Kalahari Desert, who compensate for a harsh hunting/gathering existence by sharing everything.
There’s an extraordinary segment featuring Michael Pritchard, a comedian/educator who addresses high school assemblies about bullying and through humor and the personal testimony of students creates an emotional catharsis that leaves even macho football linemen wiping their eyes.
“Happy” was executive produced by Tom Shayak, the Hollywood director whose personal documentary “I Am,” about rejecting materialism, was a surprise hit here earlier this year.
The two movies form an impressive one-two assault on conventional Western ideas of success.
Filmmaker Visit
Filmmaker and Kansas native Omid Hedari, a co-producer of “Happy,” will introduce the 4:45 and 7:30 p.m. screenings of the documentary on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Tivoli. He will participate in a post-screening Q&A session.
| Robert W. Butler
Butler's Cinema Scene 
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