If you are a frequent reader of my reviews, what I am about to say will not come as a surprise.  One might say that I am going to state the obvious, but there may be some of you who are new to The Legionnaire and have yet to recognize the pattern.  When I write an article, I start with an introduction such as the one you are currently reading, proceed to the synopsis, follow that with a paragraph dedicated specifically to my Catholic observations, and end with the briefest of conclusions.  Throughout, I try to tinge my tone with my Faith while also being faithful to the story.  It works for me.  It is comfortable and familiar.  I fully expected to do the same with Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014), a film I recall seeing in the theater.  As a testament to how different things are now compared to then, I am going to change my approach if only for this one.

I am altering my style for Hector and the Search for Happiness because it is perhaps the most Catholic film I have seen, without it mentioning Christianity once.  There may have been oblique references to my religion, but they are not important for my purposes.  Anyway, my brain is giving me a dimly recalled quote that says either God is in and through everything or He does not exist, or something along those lines.  Luckily, the eponymous topic provides common ground for a Catholic film critic to analyze on a deeper level.  I could go on about the main character, an English psychiatrist named Hector (Simon Pegg), and his journey around the world, but that could get tedious.  It would also be doing an injustice to the maxims on the subject the movie provides.  Hence, they will be providing a structure for my review and a way for me to give a Catholic insight into each of them.

Making comparisons can spoil your happiness.

Hector is, by all appearances, happy.  He has a successful practice, a beautiful girlfriend in Clara (Rosamund Pike), and a settled existence.  She loves him, and he says he feels the same about her, but there is something missing.  It becomes clearer the more his patients drone on, and he begins to see their problems as miniscule compared to others in the world.  Hence, to Clara’s slight terror, Hector announces he must travel to find what it means to be happy.  To quote part of what he says when asking people about their emotional state, far be it from me to say how people should be feeling, but he is making comparisons.  God does not want this for anyone because the person whose happiness He cares about the most is yours.  Cynically, some will tell themselves that He does the same for everyone, which is true, but why should that matter?  He is there to provide for you in ways beyond our comprehension.

A lot of people think happiness means being richer or more important.

One of the first persons Hector meets on the first leg of his trip is Edward (Stellan Skarsgård), a wealthy banker who regularly travels to their destination, Shanghai, China.  Though Edward is initially annoyed by the fumbling, talkative Hector, the former eventually takes pity on the hapless latter and they have a night on the town.  It is Edward that pays for all of it, including for Ying Li (Ming Zhao).  Hector does not realize it until the next day that she is an escort when her pimp comes and violently takes her away as they are having lunch.  Hector experiences what most people would associate with happiness living it up, but which has never been the Catholic position: being wealthy means you are happy.  That is not to say money is bad, but only by following God can one attain anything close to what he is pursuing.  Doing so means going in some strange directions, like globe trekking, but answering God’s call is the best start.

Many people only see happiness in their future.

In other words, Hector is not happy right now.  He was not that way in London, and he believes that only after he completes his journey will he achieve happiness.  The thing is that God wants you to feel joy right now.  You know the cliché about the present being a gift?  It is true because that is what God gives us, and He offers us the freedom to experience it every day like a kid on Christmas.  Of course, there will be struggles.  God us with us in them, too, giving us the strength to move on from them.

Happiness could be the freedom to love more than one woman at the same time.

One could make the assumption that this refers to Ying, but before Hector left, Clara found a picture in his sock drawer.  In the image are two people with whom she is unfamiliar: Michael (Barry Atsma) and a woman with her arms around Hector named Agnes (Toni Collette).  Clara keeps quiet, but she also notes that the photograph is missing as Hector packs.  The key here is the modifier “could.”  “Could” could mean anything.  God commands us to love everyone, including people we might suspect our significant other of still being in love with and not being open about it.  Honestly, Hector is being selfish with this one, which is why he conditions it with “could.”  For this reviewer, it also underscores why monogamy and saving sex for marriage as the Church teaches is best.

Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story.

Hector comes up with this one after the incident with Ying.  He had spent the night with her, intending to have sex with her, but falls asleep before the act could be consummated.  There is a touch of regret in this entry in his journal, as if he might have been happier knowing nothing more about this young Chinese woman and her admittedly shameful lifestyle.  This is a complicated one from a Catholic perspective.  On the one hand, there is wisdom in being satisfied solely with whatever it is God gives us, small or great.  My spiritual director is constantly reminding me of the need to stay focused on the knowable step in front of me instead of worrying about the barely discernible steps ahead.  At the same time, having a person, regardless of their situation, open up to you about their life as Ying does with Hector is a privilege.  It allows us to empathize with a person, and I pray that you do so in as Christ-like a fashion as possible.

Avoiding unhappiness is not the road to happiness.

After Shanghai, Hector heads into the Himalayas to stay for some time with monks and get their thoughts on happiness.  Surely, Buddhist holy men would have the answer.  Instead, he finds their thoughts nebulous, and does not understand the joy they feel when the wind flutters their prayer flags just right.  All he can muster is frustration that those same gusts blew over the one satellite dish he had been using to Skype with Clara.  Here, again, he is looking at the imagined consequences of such a disruption that diminishes the beauty of the moment.  God speaks to us in the here and now.  Sometimes He wants us to sit with Him in prayerful conversation, and other times He desires us to notice the amazingness of our immediate surroundings.

Does this person bring you predominantly A) up or B) down?

With uneasiness growing over Clara’s handling of their current relationship challenges, Hector flies to Africa.  While on an ancient propeller plane bouncing around on the worst turbulence he has ever experienced, he sits next to Marie Louise (S’Thandiwe Kgoroge), a young mother that calms him through conversation and thoughts on sweet potato stew.  When she asks if he has children, he vents about his troubles with Clara.  Marie’s response is the seventh entry, and it reminds me of the rules of discernment as professed by St. Ignatius of Loyola.  In the most basic sense, God desires only good for you.  What Marie is doing with such an inquiry is posing a discernment question.  While I am oversimplifying the matter, and I recommend you seek a spiritual director of your own for your specific situation, it can be said that whatever lifts you up is Godly, and whatever does not is of the enemy.

Happiness is answering your calling.

This, and the next entry, are my favorites in Hector and the Search for Happiness because they fit so well with Catholicism.  While Hector has a job, he is following his calling to plumb the depths of what it means to be happy.  Yet, the true source of inspiration for this line is Michael, who Hector is visiting.  Michael is a doctor with an organization providing aid in the African bush, something Catholic missionaries have been doing for centuries.  Putting yourself in out of the way places is sometimes how God works.  Wherever it takes us, we have to be prepared to go where He sends us.  To do otherwise would be to violate number six.

Happiness is being loved for who you are.

Amen.  This is how God loves us, and He does so to a degree deeper than our understanding.  Rather than being angered by never truly knowing the depths of that love, we should be stilled to peacefulness over the profoundness of this idea.  Still, we can get a taste of it in this life, though I might be getting ahead of myself with this sentiment.  Hector had been invited by Marie to join her family for a banquet.  The differences between himself and them are evident, but they joyously accept him anyway, as God does for us.

Sweet potato stew.

Sweet potato stew is the reason for the aforementioned banquet.  I am sure it is delicious.  Either way, having food is a blessing for which to be thankful, and this is multiplied when you can share it with others.  Jesus often ate with His disciples, and He is never depicted dining alone.  In each of these moments, He gives thanks for what he has.

Fear is an impediment to happiness.

Stumbling from Marie’s house full of sweet potato stew and wine, the surfeited Hector is loaded into a taxi and sent back towards where he had been helping Michael.  Unfortunately, along the way the vehicle is stopped by armed men who steal the car.  Hector had passed out in the back seat, and the thieves are shocked when he comes to and does not recognize the people in the front seats.  The psychiatrist is imprisoned for weeks, and at one point he overhears his captors saying that the plan is to let him “rot,” which presumably means he is going to starve to death.  It is enough to make anyone fear.  His life is imperiled, and the saddest part comes when he tells himself that he is afraid to die before he has had a chance to live.  His thoughts naturally turn to Clara, and we have the beginnings of his real calling and source of happiness.  In a spiritual sense, there is also truth in this entry.  In such awful moments, a good Scripture to recall is Isaiah 41:10, “Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God.  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”  I can imagine it would be difficult to come up with this verse with a gun to your head, but if you can, it just might save your life in more ways than one.

Happiness is feeling completely alive.

I was not kidding when I suggested that Hector has a gun to his head.  What saves him is his bad habit of stealing other people’s pens.  In this case, it belongs to a drug lord named Diego Baresco (Jean Reno), who Hector had unwittingly and begrudgingly befriended.  The monogrammed writing implement is used by Hector to prove he knows someone with whom even the African warlords will not trifle.  As a result, they dump Hector on the side of a remote road, and he runs happily back to town.  He is thankful, in other words, and thankfulness is something I have covered a few times to this point.  It is closely related to happiness, and one could make the tired metaphor that the two emotions complete each other.  They reach their apogee when they are directed to God.  It also underscores why us Catholics are pro-life.

Happiness is knowing how to celebrate.

This, too, is a pro-life moment in Hector and the Pursuit of Happiness.  Upon his return from captivity, Hector celebrates with Marie’s family, dancing unreservedly to mark the ecstatic feeling of being alive.  Faith is full of reasons to celebrate.  There is Jesus’ birthday on Christmas, the fact that He later rose from the grave on Easter, and the various feast days that mark the Catholic calendar.  On a daily and weekly basis, there is the act of celebrating Mass.  In short, Catholicism knows how to celebrate.

Listening is loving.

As a psychiatrist, Hector’s job is to listen.  Yet, he is so wrapped up in his quest that he is not truly hearing what Clara is telling him whenever they get a chance to communicate.  Actually, I am not sure it could be called communication because the only thing they do is briefly mention what is going on in that moment in their lives.  It is as if they are watching news broadcasts instead of lovingly listening to one another.  Particularly for Clara, she does not believe her concerns are being heard.  It reminds me of something I have encountered a few times regarding prayer.  Simply put, all prayer is effective, no matter if you think you are just going through the motions.  The act of praying by itself is noticed and appreciated by God.  The important part is that you continue the effort, and let God worry about the results.  Sadly, so many get caught up in whether they are being heard that they stop listening and give up on the Faith.  Clara and Hector appear headed in this direction.

Nostalgia is not what it used to be.

I have heard this clever line before, and I was happy that it was used by Agnes.  Hector’s last stop after Africa is Los Angeles where Agnes works as a psychologist.  His intent is to see if anything remains of their long-ago romance.  She quickly and decisively puts an end to these thoughts by reiterating her love of her husband and the family she has started.  She adds her dismay with him for not saying anything for a dozen years and then suddenly showing up with such overtures.  As I have already discussed, this relates to God being the Lord of the present.  Hector’s attitude highlights how terrible it is to hold onto feelings instead of moving on and letting God take you where He wills.  Hector deserves some credit for not being willing to be a home wrecker, but he is still toying with not only Agnes’ emotions, but Clara’s, too.  As such, Hector must learn the lesson that God wants of everyone: to be mindful of the here and now and the people in it.

What helps Hector finally reach the proper conclusion is attending with Agnes a workshop being given by world-renowned psychologist Professor Coreman (Christopher Plummer), who is studying the effects of happiness on the brain.  Professor Coreman’s main tenet is that it is not about the pursuit of happiness, but rather being happy with the pursuit.  This coincides with Catholic views on perfection.  Like true happiness, it is not something to be attained like a prize from a game show.  Instead, God holds it out for us as something to be strived for because doing so means becoming closer to Him.  Along the way, we learn how he wants us to be happy.  For Hector, it starts with loving Clara as she desires.  Once their relationship is mended, they marry and live better lives because that is what God has called them to do.  It is everything, and because of the happy ending, I highly recommend this film.