Introduction - This film wants to move your life forward. Over its 80 minute duration, Finding Joe is a fine introduction to Campbell's seminal teachings and discoveries.
Name of film: Finding Joe
Director: Patrick Takaya Solomon.
Year: 2011
Official Poster
Review
Only a few old photos of Professor Campbell appear in Finding Joe - there is no interview with him but 20 devotees talk enthusiatically about his major findings over a lifetime study of mythology. Campbell's philosophy has been summarized by the phrase: "Follow your bliss." He became recognised in Hollywood after George Lucas credited Campbell's work as influencing his Star Wars saga.
This is well intentioned film, full of beautiful rousing music with extracts of children playing and slaying dragons (a metaphor) but the main body of the movie is about interviews. Scriptwriters, musicians, artists and some who have endured great misfortune, speak of Campbell’s wisdom and the effect of his seminal book, The Hero’s Journey(1949,) on their life path. A leading Hollywood scriptwriter suffered an abusive childhood, an 11 year old boy watched his father and his girlfriend die in a plane crash and eventually, wrote a moving, best selling survivor's book.
Campbell believes we all have latent creativity. For him, no life is satisfactory unless we pursue what will make us happy and fulfilled - greed, excess, pleasure seeking for the sake of it, earning millions have no part in his process. It is by discovering a greater purpose, your latent talent - to coin his phrase to, "follow your bliss," where the richness of life is to be found. Overcome your demons, slay your own inner dragon, find out what you excel at and pursue it, through all adversity and misfortune - find out what you can contribute to the world while holding your head up. It is a charming documentary, but it can also feel a little like a self help film and this reviewer suspects, it might only appeal to those with a left field leaning.
Professor Jordan Peterson believes that that the heroes' way is mainly for for those who have an artistic aspiration - many, he argues, can find satisfaction in socialising, through their children, in the pursuit of money, in empire building, family etc, etc etc.
Nevertheless, Mike Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, film director Catherine Hardwicke, screenwriter/producer Akiva Goldman and actress-writer Rashida Jones.
Deepak Chopra, skateboarder, Tony Hawk, surfing star, Laird Hamilton and Robert Walter, president of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, all speak thoughtfully and articulately - everyone stays on Campbell's message completely.
Movie clips from the Star Wars to The Wizard of Oz help to illustrate Campbell’s theory that the Hero’s Journey is the foundation of all mythological storytelling – only by overcoming adversity can we grow and transform into the hero that is inside all of us.
The way to do this, may not be so easy for everyone to follow, but there's no denying that all interviewees have benefited enormously by sticking to Campbell’s beliefs.
Perhaps what's missing is a sense of the man himself - his long career which covered many aspects of human knowledge and experience. But that’s not the film Solomon wanted to make. Finding Joe can be seen as 20 people giving a similar lecture - yet this reviewer felt uplifted by it - by the sheer passion and belief of those who took part
Finding Joe must be the result of the film-maker's own determination to follow his bliss - his own call to adventure and in this, the film is generous and substantial - you get the sense that it is exactly the movie Solomon wanted to make. This film is designed to be inspiring, engaging and meaningful and in that, it succeeds on many levels.
You can enjoy the whole of Finding Joe on You Tube.
Trailer
Number of SUBs out of 10 - 6 out of 10
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Thanks for reading my review, always up for comments and a chat about films and TV.
