What Constitutes Happiness?

Happiness is the “one thing” the thirteen conversations are about in the film, “13 Conversations About One Thing.” Many of us live our lives in search of happiness, some envy others for their happiness, and still others are pessimistic that it even exists. Yet, this is a goal that everyone strives to achieve, and this film does a good job of showing the viewer there is a way to find happiness.

I have chosen Option B for my film review, employing the criteria from the Daily Writings website including viewing the film more than once, expressing my opinion of the film, judging the story, and evaluating the technical elements.

In this film, directed by Jill Sprecher and written in conjunction with her sister, the viewer is challenged to go beyond the narrative and evaluate his own life. In this way, the film is different from typical Hollywood blockbusters which normally depict events happening in a specific order to arrive at a precise conclusion. In this film, however, the writers use random, everyday events to demonstrate how chance encounters can alter planned outcomes and allow the viewer to come to his own conclusion about luck and happiness.

In the opening scene, Walker, the physics professor, returns home late from work to his waiting wife. After talking about his recent mugging, she asks him what he wants. He replies, “What everyone wants, to wake up enthused; to be happy.” In his quest for happiness, he leaves his wife to pursue an affair with a married colleague. He tells his mistress that he is different now as she has set him free from a life of predictability and dullness of routine but in the next breath tells her, “See you again Thursday at the same time.” He goes through the motions to do what he thinks will bring happiness but he is so obsessed with schedules and daily routines that he remains unsatisfied and unhappy. His character, easy for the viewer to relate to, is conditioned to maintain a routine and predictable lifestyle even as he...