Daniel Smith
I saw some poor reviews and thought that I should add my $0.02. This movie is very inspiring and I highly recommended it to everybody. This is definitely a diamond-in-the-rough type of movie. Just get it, watch it, and you will be inspired to follow your bliss.One of the scenes talked about Joseph Campbell advice to his graduating students. He said "Don't do what Daddy says". Because Daddy has one interest in mind for you - your security. And if you bargain away your life for security now, you will NEVER find your bliss.Joseph Campbel quote: "The job of science is to give you an image of the universe - what it's like, what it actually is like. This changes from decade to decade. There's no science that says, "I've found the truth." It's a working hypothesis and the next season we'll have another structure. The problem of mythology is to relate that found truth the the actual living of a life. The myth has to deal with the cosmology of the day and it's no good when it's based on a cosmology that's out of date. That's one of our problems. I don't see any conflict between religion and science. Religion has to accept the science of the day and penetrate it to the mystery. The conflict is between the science of 2000 BC and the science of 2000 AD. This is one of the problems with our tradition, where our inherited mythology, the Judeo-Christian tradition, relates to the near east in the first millennium BC and has nothing to do with life here. Everything has to be explained. A mythological image that has to be explained to the brain is not working. When you move through a culture field that is so alien to your own that the images don't click on a response and a recognition then you're out of sync."
annamaren-293-719843
This film was a beautiful and inspiring exploration of the Hero's Journey mythology, first explained by Joseph Campbell.I felt that this film really pulled together elements of storytelling the Hero's Journey cycle that made it appealing and engaging for both myself, and my two children (8 and 12). There is a broad appeal across gender and age. The interviewees in the film come from a broad range of background and life experience, and I think nearly anyone could identify and really feel themselves being spoken to through the words of the different people who share their stories. I think that this is something that explains Joseph Campbell's work in a modern, personal way, I am so glad to have seen it, and feel so excited to share this film with more people in my life.
EMFilmGeek
What stood out to me most about this film is the cinematography. I don't usually notice these things, but it really stood out. The shots were well executed, and allowed the message of the documentary to flow smoothly; with visual representations of the message. I had heard about the book The Hero With A Thousand Faces, and nothing but great things. Then, when I came across Finding Joe, and saw it was about the Hero's Journey, I was intrigued -- and pleased with what I found. Not only does it provide in- depth interviews from experts on both spirituality and success in life, but also delves into the workings of mythology, specifically the Hero's Journey, and the most fascinating aspect of this documentary -- how it applies to us. I really enjoyed this documentary and recommend a viewing!
Chris Odell
It pains me to write anything less than a stellar review for any film promoting the works of Joseph Campbell but I need to be honest here in saying that I didn't think it was a very good way of introducing people to Joe's work.Pros:This film does go over many of Joe's basic teaching's mostly from "The Hero's Journey". Most importantly even if you have heard it all before it will likely make you think about some important things you have forgotten or lost sight of in your life, just seeing the film pulled my friend out of a depression phase he was in. It interviews an interesting range of people from philosophers to Tony Hawk.The film is technically very well done, clean images and good sound with the small exception of a few edit points where we see peoples lips moving after they stop talking for a brief moment that only a quick eye would notice.Cons:The film has a feel similar to the distasteful works of "What the Bleep do We Know" and other self help style movies, although there is no pseudo science involved. The music score and over used shots of people smiling in slow motion make much of the movie feel like an advertisement. I didn't care for the use of children in costumes to portray some of the concept in the film, but it might make sense considering this is like a child's view of Joe's work.Also it should probably be called "Losing Joe". After the very brief bio with some stills of Joe all we ever see is his quotes. Not one clip of him speaking or any in depth look at his heroes Journey. I know that the director wanted to make it a story about how he found Joe but that doesn't come through in the movie either.Overall:The movie has a good message and if you want to see Joe's work spread to more people than you should support this effort. I would however think that showing the Bill Moyer's interviews to the Joe uninitiated would be a better start.