Hector and the Search for Happiness

"Sometimes to find yourself you need to get a little lost."

2014 1h 54m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🥫

38%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 996🥫38%Rotten Tomatoes●29Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 51,989

AdventureDramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Hector is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly tired of his humdrum life. As he tells his girlfriend, Clara, he feels like a fraud: he hasn’t really tasted life, and yet he’s offering advice to patients who are just not getting any happier. So Hector decides to break out of his deluded and routine driven life. Armed with buckets of courage and child-like curiosity, he embarks on a global quest in hopes of uncovering the elusive secret formula for true happiness. And so begins a larger than life adventure with riotously funny results.

“Sometimes to find yourself you need to get a little lost.”

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Cast

Simon Pegg
Hector
Rosamund Pike
Clara
Toni Collette
Agnes
Stellan Skarsgård
Edward
Christopher Plummer
Professor Coreman
Jean Reno
Diego Baresco
Barry Atsma
Michael
Veronica Ferres
Anjali

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Chelsom
Writers: Maria von Heland, Tinker Lindsay, Peter Chelsom
Languages: German, English, French
Countries: Canada, China, Germany, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 6 countries: Canada, China, Germany, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Chelsom, shot by Kolja Brandt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dan Mangan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Claus Wehlisch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Simon Pegg and Rosamund Pike and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Sometimes to find yourself you need to get a little lost.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Chelsom directs. Kolja Brandt behind the camera. Dan Mangan scores. Claus Wehlisch cuts. Produced in Canada, China, Germany, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in German, English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 12 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, French.
3International production across 6 countries: Canada, China, Germany, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Peter Chelsom, shot by Kolja Brandt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Dan Mangan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Claus Wehlisch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Simon Pegg and Rosamund Pike and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Sometimes to find yourself you need to get a little lost.".
9IMDB entry: tt1626146 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 16 themes, including "china", "africa", "routine", "narration".

The technical file

Cinematography: Kolja Brandt
Original score: Dan Mangan
Editing: Claus Wehlisch
Production design: Michael Diner
Costume design: Guy Speranza
Makeup / hair: Monica Huppert
VFX supervisor: Stefan Kessner
Sound: Martin Steyer
Stunt coordinator: Scott J. Ateah
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,124,445
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes: 38% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 29/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 51,989 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins & 6 nominations total

Also by

Peter Chelsom

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2015-12-14
★ 9/10
Chase your life (dream), don't let it chase you away. A multinationally produced film product. The story as well won't take place in one place, but travels around the different continents. It is when 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' meets 'The Ultimate Gift'. A very inspiring theme, made by 'Serendipity' director which is his first film since last five years. Looks like it is his career best, at least in my perspective it is. The film talks about the different human moods, especially about the search for happiness as the title suggest. Being I am a movie fanatic, I won't watch great flicks every day. It is not easy to come by, sometimes I have to go through 5 movies, sometimes 10 and sometimes a month long wait. In my recent watch I liked so many flicks, but never considered them as my favourites until this one. Like I said its been months and I am super excited with this film. As usual, my nemesis, the critics led it to the box office flop. I am saying the same thing that it's definitely not suit for critics, but families (excluding kids) and mainly middle-aged people. It will be too early for children to understand the movie and there is a nudity, but no sex scenes. The old people can enjoy watching it, but won't inspire them like 'The Bucket List' did. "Do you have any children, doctor? My husband and I, it was our only regret. We couldn't. But, you know what? It was bloody good fun trying." Usually for the western countries, self-discover means visiting India. We have seen movies like 'The Darjeeling Limited', 'Eat Pray Love' and many more that focuses on the similar subjects. This film gets rid of that so called cliche and goes ahead with different locations. The title character Hector goes for a such mission looking for happiness through self-discovery, meets different people and their cultures. Even he undergoes several life threatening situations and also meets his past (people) only to clear his head. Hector was a very fond of Tintin comic books, he kind of imagines that he's Tintin and his dog as Snowy, but there's no confirmation in this regard in the movie. The adventure he takes exactly depicts what Tintin stories do. Looks his mood was kind of affect since his childhood. In the opening scene, he loses his dog which represented his 'Happiness'. Also, where the 'Unhappiness' (probably his girlfriend in his real world) rose above and tailed him since. These are simply my theory considering unexplained things or trying to crack down the hidden messages. I won't deny that some of the ideas were borrowed from the other flicks. It might not be as fancy as 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty', but it had some of its own great momentum like, laughs, craziness, emotions, romance and adventures. I have not seen Simon Pegg's all the movies, but in this he was never seen before avatar. I'll definitely remember it for him as long as I'll be in this film watching business. I was expecting his usual comedy, but I was absolutely blown away for witnessing an uplifting movie. If you focus deeply on the narration, you could virtually experience passing through all those provinces shown in the film. Definitely one of the top 10 films from the year 2014. I highly recommend it, certainly a must watch. 9/10

Production companies