culture
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Movie review
This is not just a wonderful movie, it is a movie that will make your life better
"Soul", Pixar's new film that aired directly on Disney Plus, is an extraordinary achievement even by the standards of the acclaimed animation studio: it's not just a spectacular, smart and exciting modern classic, but one of those rare films that can change the perspective on life, and make it better
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Pixar
Jamie Foxx
Soul - Movie
Avner Shavit
Friday, 08 January 2021, 00:19
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Film Forum
(Photo: PR, "Shai" "Librovsky")
A few weeks ago, Pixar Studios celebrated a half-jubilee release of "Toy Story" - the first feature film from their creator, including the first full-length film made entirely in computer animation.
Since then they have been making sure to release new films at a rate of almost once a year, and now comes the 23rd product in number, "Soul".
Under clear circumstances, "Soul" became the first two weeks ago in these films to go live on Disney Plus - it skipped the theaters in the United States, most of which are still closed, and landed the streaming service, and so I watched it from my current seats in America.
However, it should be emphasized that the film is not legally available in Israel, and the plan is to release it as soon as cinemas in Israel open - so far, by the way, whenever an estimated date has been mentioned, it ended with the announcement of another closure.
"Soul" also stands as Pixar's first feature film starring a black man - a New Yorker named Joe, voiced by Jamie Foxx, who once again proves to be an underappreciated actor.
Compared to all the initial milestones, the result is also reminiscent of other previous films, and not necessarily of the animation studio - so, for example, the protagonist is similar to the one in "Inside the Lewin Davis" by the Cohen brothers.
Like him, Joe turns out to be a failed jazz musician who is pressured to find another vocation in life, but he refuses to give up on his dreams.
For him, music is the taste of life, and if he does not succeed in rising to greatness - then he is not really alive.
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From "Soul" (Photo: PR, Film Forum)
Until they fulfill the fantasy, Joe settles for teaching music to young students, and after one of his lessons, the opportunity that has been waiting for him all his life lands: to play alongside a legendary singer who seems to have emerged from "Ma Rainey's blues" that recently appeared on Netflix.
Her audition is so successful that the dreamy pianist comes out of it dizzy, not looking where he's going - and falls into a hole in the road.
From here on, a complicated, sometimes even cumbersome chain of events begins: Joe ascends to heaven and, due to another combination of circumstances, arrives in a kind of limbo.
Along with it are souls that have not yet been born, and are undergoing training before they can roll in people's bodies.
Prominent among these is one sullen and stubborn soul, voiced by Tina Fey, who refuses to do her duty and go on a mission on Earth.
Joe is also unwilling to do what is required of him, and refuses to accept the fact that he ended his life a moment before justifying his existence.
As a result, the new dead causes a riot in which he and his new girlfriend fall to Earth.
Then comes another twist, forcing them to join forces to solve the complication.
Meanwhile, the soul that has never experienced the world discovers it for the first time - and the musician who has never really lived life discovers its meaning.
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Spectacular animation, witty humor, exciting drama.
From "Soul" (Photo: PR, Film Forum)
The film was directed by Pete Doctor, one of Pixar's best sons, who had already signed some of her best works, most notably The Voice in the Head.
His new film is endowed with some of the virtues that were in previous hits - the aesthetics are spectacular;
The directing work is breathtaking as well, and includes beautiful touches that once again illustrate that we are not talking enough about the importance of the director in animated films;
The humor is witty and includes references of all kinds - from Carl Jung to the New York Knicks;
And the emotional dimension is even more successful.
The scene in which the protagonist first pours out his heart to his dominant mother is a masterpiece of writing and execution.
But beyond that, "Soul" also has qualities that did not exist in previous Pixar films, and not just because of the fine jazz soundtrack and the place it gives to black culture.
First of all, as the New York Times noted, this is their first film in which one can feel the soul of a city.
The sights of the big apple, its sounds and smells - everything is described here in a wonderfully tangible way.
In a scene that seems marginal at first but then a key is revealed, the characters relish a pizza - and viewers can actually taste and smell it.
On top of that, it's an even deeper and more philosophical film than Pixar's previous works, which set a high standard in the first place.
Although "Soul" ostensibly stands as a hit for the whole family, it raises questions like "Is this life worth dying for?"
And deals with emptiness of all kinds, including the emptiest kind - the one that comes precisely after the fulfillment of our biggest dreams.
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From "Soul" (Photo: PR, Film Forum)
In this context, the most significant point in the film is his perception of self-fulfillment and finding meaning. Most popular culture works, whether it be guidebooks or Hollywood movies, have presented a similar approach: everyone has a vocation, and he needs to find it and fulfill his ambitions to be happy. "Soul," on the other hand, offers a different conception, which undermines the accepted values of American thought.
"Soul" does not call us to give up our dreams, but it warns us not to throw all our love on them, because life is too long to be based on moments that come once in a lifetime. Instead, he allows his protagonist to discover something different - the infinite happiness inherent in all those everyday moments that are always around us, if we just look for them: a delicious pizza triangle, a magical human gesture, the knowledge that you have helped someone. Like "Angels in the Sky of Berlin" at the time, this film also proves to be a beautiful hymn to all these moments.
In one of the key moments here, the singer tells the frustrated musician the parable about the two fish: the young man tells the adult that he is looking for the ocean. "You're in the ocean right now," the old man replies. "What, really? But I'm in the water, I'm looking for the ocean," the disappointed fish replies. An educated "soul" proves to us that the water in which we swim is the ocean, so there is no need to look for it. This is not just a wonderful film, but one that has the power to change our perspective on life, and make it better.
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