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Happiness ... Promised Land
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Happiness ... Promised Land
IDFA 2011

Happiness ... Promised Land

Le bonheur ... terre promise
Laurent Hasse
France
2011
93 min
Dutch Premiere
Festival history
Without preparation, and carrying only a backpack and a camera, the documentary filmmaker Laurent Hasse hiked from the French Pyrenees to the coast of northern France. "Hiking is a pleasure, and that pleasure is the subject of this film. Every encounter is an encouragement, as if everyone is thinking of me as I travel on." is a road movie at walking pace, with Hasse's unplanned and openhearted encounters with his compatriots determining the structure. He has one important central question: what's your definition of happiness? And it turns out to be a tough question to answer. A wide range of people have a go, though, including a bar owner, a baker, some soldiers, a monk, a couple of housewives, and Santa Claus. This rich palette of perspectives that Hasse collects shows that optimists tend to find happiness close to home - although sometimes you have to have traveled to find out that that's where it is. The pessimists tend to view happiness as something fragile, or else as pure egocentricity - because how can you be happy when you know that others are suffering? balances between common truths about everyday happiness and existential reflection.
Credits
Screening copy
    La Bascule Production
    La Bascule Production
Co-production
    Zadig Productions
    Zadig Productions