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!

Great movie. When I watched this movie it made me feel that happiness is obtainable. Through religion, and doing the right thing. I believe this movie taught a very valuable lesson as in if you do good things, it can make you feel good. People think scientific facts would matter but science doesn't define emotions. Some things are unexplainable in life for a reason. I think this is great, and enjoyable to watch. I have seen this movie multiple times when I was upset and it always brought me out of my funk and helped me feel positive again. I showed this movie to many members of my family and it made them not only get emotional, but they felt this was a great guide to become a happy person.

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.

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.

An excellent, thought provoking movie that will grab your attention and your heart. This should be required viewing for everyone. It is interesting and rewarding that Hollywood would produce for us a documentary on Happiness but at the same time has been a large contributor to trying to make us believe, falsely, what makes us happy. There is a well done piece also about what doesn't make kid's happy. It seems a shame that the producers found it necessary to search around the world to find happiness. My prayer is that it will abound and be readily evident in and around each one of us.

A great movie that will warm your heart, stir your soul and hopefully make you think about a practical application in your own life.