Fine enough acting, but ...


... This bored the hell out of me. Maybe if I was really old a simple movie like this could excite me, but this was such a paint by numbers movie. My main complaint was the character development. *SPOILERS AHEAD*

We discover Hector as boring professional, stuck in the monotony of his safe life. In order to break out he decides to go on this quest to discover the source of happiness, but before he's even done packing he's already a very excited person ready to embrace whatever life offers. There's no coming out of his shell for us to watch. Just - BAM he's out and talking to everyone he meets and trying every new thing offered him.

Secondly, the directorial decision to not stick to a motif. The animated journaling was kind of cool. The shift to boy version of Hector wasn't that brilliant, and attempted in a couple different styles, and then - apropos of nothing - we get the homemade SFX of the plain in the rain. In and of themselves these would be OK, but they didn't blend well and stormy plain effect didn't have anything to do with the rest of the movie or what was going on with Hector's figurative journey. It was a distraction into itself.

And finally, we are too deep into the history of movies to still try and manipulate viewers into being caught up exploration of exotic lands with goofy montages married to inspiring synth music. It patronizes both the culture and the viewer.

I don't know who the audience for this movie is, but it certainly isn't for anyone that wants to be treated to new stories/motifs/concepts/ideas.

And finally, I'm not attempting to suggest I'm some kind of discerning viewer. I like any kind of movie as long as it's done well. This one just didn't get at the heart of the matter at all.

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Shoved an extra "and finally in there", didn't I

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Just saw it and I must say I completely agree with you.

I wanted to like this movie, I'm a fan of Simon Pegg and after seeing The World's End I was looking forward to seeing him and Rosamund Pike work together again. Still, nearly everything about this movie just felt a bit off. The pasing can be too fast or too slow, the symbolism with Hector as a child was very obvious and the continuous use of animation didn't seem to add anything but the idea that it is a very playful movie.

What bothered me the most was the main character, Hector is really unlikable. He feels like a shallow person and impulsively decides to leave everything behind and go on a trip to 'discover himself'. Why can't he just wait a few months and plan a vacation with his girlfriend? Why the rush all of the sudden? On his first night abroad he ends up cheating on Clara. And in the end, when he tells her over the phone that he learned a lot about happiness and that he fears losing her I was thinking: 'Good for you! But you really messed up your relationship. Only now do you realise that you don't want to lose the most important person in your life? You can't expect to correct that mistake with one phone call.'

The message the film is trying to bring across is: 'He was looking for a definition of happiness to help his patients but in the end he realised that he needed to be happy himself to make others happy.' That's been done a million times before. I think this movie has the best intentions but ultimately fails to deliver any message because it simply doesn't have anything interesting to say. And it's almost as if it tries to compensate its lack of substance with its artsy style.

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I saw the film today and I enjoyed it.

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the symbolism with Hector as a child was very obvious

They never pretended to be an Ingmar Bergman movie.

the continuous use of animation didn't seem to add anything but the idea that it is a very playful movie.

No. It was used to show internal thoughts and reflections without having him talk off screen all the time.

I was looking forward to seeing him and Rosamund Pike work together again.

Who's being shallow now? 

He feels like a shallow person and impulsively decides to leave everything behind and go on a trip to 'discover himself'. Why can't he just wait a few months and plan a vacation with his girlfriend? Why the rush all of the sudden?

Roughly translated: Boohoo I didn't get what I was watching the movie for so the character sucks because I didn't get to see Rosamund Pike through the whole movie.
He wasn't going on a vacation, he was trying to find himself. You don't go on a vacation from yourself by taking your life along with you. It's only because he left alone that he realized what was making him happy in the first place.

On his first night abroad he ends up cheating on Clara.

Did you actually see the movie or did you end up skipping through all the scenes without Rosamund Pike? He didn't cheat on her.

'Good for you! But you really messed up your relationship. Only now do you realise that you don't want to lose the most important person in your life? You can't expect to correct that mistake with one phone call.'

No he didn't mess up his relationship. They didn't have a relationship, they had a routine. Most couples forget why they are even together because they get lost in their routine. She realizes she was unhappy too and they are seeing things through new eyes at the end, which is why they are both happy.
Also, you do realize this is not a romantic comedy and that Clara was not the main character, right?

The message the film is trying to bring across is: 'He was looking for a definition of happiness to help his patients but in the end he realised that he needed to be happy himself to make others happy.

 yeah that's totally the message the film is trying to get across, congrats, you completely got it. oh wait, no you didn't!

That's been done a million times before

I'm too busy to read that long a list but can you please list 10-100 movies that have done it?


For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

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You can always disagree with my opinion, and it's great if you enjoyed the movie yourself. But I don't see the point of most of your comments.

They never pretended to be an Ingmar Bergman movie.


Perhaps not, but the symbolism is there for a reason. Symbolism is used to communicate a message in a more powerful, subtle or creative way than can be done through dialogue. When you keep showing this image of a young Hector over and over again... there's just nothing interesting it communicates. I could tell from Simon Pegg's acting that he was supposed to be a manchild, it makes the imagery obsolete.

No. It was used to show internal thoughts and reflections without having him talk off screen all the time.


Well thank you for stating the obvious, but when I say it doesn't 'seem' to add anything I mean that it doesn't have any extra value. Again, I get that Hector is like a kid on an adventure. Leaving out all the animation sequences wouldn't have affected the movie for me. It's fine if they did anything for you, but for me they just lacked the creativity to add extra value and felt really tacked on. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty made much better use of its fantasy sequences. These kind of scenes also work really well in surreal movies like The Big Lebowski or the Monty Python films.

Who's being shallow now?


Oh, so you think it's shallow to want to see a movie because the two leads have great chemistry? Isn't that the whole point of casting? Why do people want to see more Scorsese movies featuring Leonardo Dicaprio? Because of the sound technicians and set designers? Don't tell me you've never watched a movie thinking: 'What a great actor, I would like to see him again in another film.'

Did you actually see the movie or did you end up skipping through all the scenes without Rosamund Pike? He didn't cheat on her.


Just because he didn't technically have sex with that Chinese prostitute doesn't make it 'not cheating'. They still ended up kissing and sleeping together. And I was wondering if he would really not have had sex with her had he not fallen asleep. He then wrote down "happiness is loving two women at the same time?". When she revealed she was a prostitute he was genuinly hurt, he even wanted to continue his trip with her. If you think pursuing another woman and sharing intimate moments with her behind your spouse's back is not cheating, I sure hope your partner wouldn't mind if you did the same.


Roughly translated: Boohoo I didn't get what I was watching the movie for so the character sucks because I didn't get to see Rosamund Pike through the whole movie.


Nope, that's just your interpretation. Just read my comment below.

No he didn't mess up his relationship. They didn't have a relationship, they had a routine. Most couples forget why they are even together because they get lost in their routine. She realizes she was unhappy too and they are seeing things through new eyes at the end, which is why they are both happy.
Also, you do realize this is not a romantic comedy and that Clara was not the main character, right?


I know perfectly well this movie isn't about her. Just because I was looking forward to seeing these two actors together doesn't mean I was focussing on that throughout the film. Hell, I wouldn't mind if they had written her out for the sake of the story. My issues are with Hector as a character, not with Clara's screen time. In fact, I think her screen time was just fine.

So he has a dysfunctional relationship, but it's still his girlfriend. When you're committed to a relationship that doesn't work you don't just go: 'I need to discover myself, see ya!'. It's something you have to work out together as a couple. Maybe a student with no serious commitments can go on a solitary world trip to discover himself. It makes Hector look like a selfish dweep with a midlife crisis. He just leaves for a couple of months and only occasionally calls her. He doesn't tell her where he's going or when he'll be back. And yet, the movie still wants to make us believe that his girlfriend is the most important person in his life. Hector would've been a more likable character if he were a single or divorced man.

Yeah that's totally the message the film is trying to get across, congrats, you completely got it. oh wait, no you didn't!


Well, now I'm curious to know what YOU thought was the message.

If there's another message I can get out of this film it's: 'He learned to appreciate what he took for granted.'

I'm too busy to read that long a list but can you please list 10-100 movies that have done it?


Well, do you think I would write down a list for someone who won't bother to read it?

Common, that cliché is older than movies. Just Google it and you'll find several articles on that. How many stories have we seen about a performer who makes people happy but feels empty because he's not happy himself? (The Nightmare Before Christmas). A cynical prick who only starts to be likable when he learns to appreciate life (Groundhog Day). Or a family man who works hard to support his family, but they're not happy because what they really need is HIM (Mary Poppins). All these films deal with the idea of happiness in a much better way.

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I was going to quote your paragraph starting 'Secondly' and just type "YES!" repeatedly, but when I read through again, I agree with every part of this post, every single part!
It was nothing new, it wasn't even old things being done very well, the mish-mash of quirky things you suggested (animation etc.) felt like they'd been thrown in because they were quirky and because they worked in other things, but as you said, having all of them became a distraction. For example, '(500) Days of Summer' is one of my favourite films of all time, that scene where he feels so empty that his life becomes a drawing and everything around him gets erased is really cool and very fitting because we know the character of Tom draws, so it is in line with him.

I gave this film a 6 in the end, my rating for 'good' (above a 5 being 'passable') but the only reason I really did that was because I like Simon Pegg a lot, so his screen presence was enough to tide me over.

"God, when I meet you, I'm gonna be pretty. If it's the last thing I do. I'll be a beautiful angel."

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Sorry there wasn't enough boobs and hot women doing something stupid/saying something stupid for ya, or stuff blowing up every 5 minutes..... so sad young peoples attention spans are like 2 minutes now :( :( unless some "hot" chick in a crop top with huge fake tits in a wet t-shirt is on the screen....

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This is such a dumb response. I gave very explicit reasons for why I thought this movie was a let down (a critique of the actual directorial choices), and you ignore all that and reduce my response to a lack of attention span where tits aren't involved.

I don't go to movies for tits. We're on the internet ... where there's porn. I don't spend fifteen bucks to see tits in a theater. Grow up.

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I agree.

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