Happy Sad Man (2018) User Reviews

Personal Ob-Doc strikes fine balance

[jeffdaniels10 · 10/10 · 24 August 2018]

Celebrated Australian independent filmmaker Genevieve Bailey has just released her latest feature doc HAPPY SAD MAN. This ob-doc is a deeply emotional, personal account of Bailey's friendship with 5 very different men as they navigate through issues of mental illness.

Bailey's trademark personal approach allows her to build trust with her subjects, some over many years. These relationships pay off for the audience. We gain a respectful insight into these men as they work through healthy ways to express their illness and themselves.

This film works well to focus on the manner each man takes to communicate with family, friends and the greater community. This proves a fraught process for each man revealing Australia's and in my experience the US's inability to foster healthy discussions around our emotions from an early age. Here the film strikes an effective balance, choosing to slowly reveal their conditions by focusing on the often confronting journey each man takes to work through them. The result is storytelling that is rich with personality, that builds empathy without being didactic or heavy-handed.

As Bailey invites us to share in her friendship with these 5 men, HAPPY SAD MAN invites us to start what is otherwise an uncomfortable conversation around men's mental illness and mental health in general. Practically we are led to consider the pervasive harm caused - to families, to communities - when men's mental illness is left untreated. Personally we witness how reaching out to others emotionally can be transformative, can save lives. In this way, HAPPY SAD MAN is a respectful addition to the conversation around the #METOO movement as we observe men (those in a position to do so) taking responsibility for their behavior.

Life Changing

[fiona-33342 · 10/10 · 24 August 2018]

Absolutely loved this film - laughed and cried and felt so connected with all of the men profiled. Gen Bailey is an exceptional storyteller and this latest offering (after I Am Eleven) is set to not only entertain but also to educate people about mental illness. It was an absolute pleasure to watch and I am confident it will open up lines for conversation around men's mental health and change the future of its perception for generations to come.

An extraordinarily charming and uplifting film. Everybody will love it.

[andrewbunney · 10/10 · 28 November 2019]

From the city to the bush, we meet five very different men; they are Aussie men, but not Ockers. Each is of one of filmmaker Genevieve Bailey's friends and her disciplined, creative process has resulted in an intimate and heartwarming look into vulnerability and friendship. There's a war-zone photo-journalist, a farmer and outreach worker from rural Victoria, a musical nomad and an artist. Each man talks openly about complex emotions. They are interesting men; funny, wise, anxious, sad and joyful at times. They are articulate and we see mental health struggles as part of a normal life.

We intuitively know the great truth and honesty in these portraits. These are men at very grave risk in our community, doing the thing that they are not supposed to be able to do; talking about stuff.

But Happy Sad Man is also a great piece of cinema, with brilliant images, locations and sound, all artfully organized to achieve maximum effect.

Genevieve Bailey includes herself, in a restrained way. She is director and cinematographer, applying her considerable skills to her real-life friendships to delve into Australian masculinity. It is a breathtakingly revealing anecdotal survey because of its intimacy with the subjects. Bailey has accumulated material from set pieces to hand-held go-pro over years; images and words to make a landmark film.

We get a great insight into masculinity and mental health in Australia today and the film is bound to change the dialogue around these life and death issues. The content is timely if not way overdue. And there are lovely contributions of music from Nick Huggins & Lisa Mitchell.

An extraordinarily charming and uplifting film. Everybody will love it.

SKILFULLY CRAFTED LIFE STORIES OF MENTAL ILLNESS AND MORE

[gazferg · 10/10 · 1 December 2019]

So often we talk about mental illness in de-personalised ways. Those with mental illness are loathe to self-disclose because of the stigma and marginalisation that it might cause. This is more so with men. Happy Sad Man is a skilfully crafted documentary film about 4 men from different walks of life. Four men, each of whom courageously disclose their individual vulnerabilities and joys in vividly personal ways and allow the camera to expose them to the audience. Genevieve Bailey has emotionally captured on camera their stories in Happy Sad Man that reflects her personal investment in the stories of the men and her affection for them. Made over several years the film explores the highs and lows of John, Jake, Grant and David in ways which leave the audience with no doubt that their mental illnesses are as individual as each of them. The camera work is bold and raw with close ups of each of the men as they experience doubt, sadness, happiness, calm, depression, uncertainty and love. The stark imagery of masculinity is captured in the film stunningly through sport by Bailey. The narration and voice overs naturally fit with a varied landscape. There were times in this documentary when I laughed out loud and times when tears welled my eyes. Happy Sad Man should be on everyone's list of "must see".

Heart-warming & real

[richardjcbarry · 10/10 · 11 August 2022]

In today's fast-paced society, it can be easy to see humans, but not the humanity. HSM reminded me of that humanity, in frankly at times, a bone-chilling, eye-welling fashion. It reminded me of our oneness, of our shared experience & our shared struggles. HSM is at the vanguard of bringing mental health into the zeitgeist, of showing men in particular, that it's okay to disarmour, to drop the machismo & be raw & vulnerable. And what greater place to start that conversation than via the silver screen. I felt the rawness & realness of all the men throughout the film, & unlike many cinematic experiences, left the experience inspired, emboldened & more empathetic for those around me, especially close ones who have also struggled with mental health. I very rarely leave a film & have the urge to immediately re-watch it, but I did with HSM. I should also note that the soundtrack is absolutely amazing.

Indulgent movie about trendy mental health issues

[mschloejohnson · 4/10 · 13 August 2018]

I had the opportunity to watch the premiere of Happy Sad Man yesterday at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2018 (MIFF), and in spite of my great expectations and excitement, left the theatre thinking that indeed a few happy and a few sad decisions have been made in the making of this film.

The happy decisions:

• To talk about men mental health.

• To choose some truly lovely and peculiar human beings to be the heroes of the story. The generosity and openness of these Men sharing their stories is really touching, and makes the movie.

• Cool music by Nick Huggins.

The sad decisions:

• To talk once again about the "trendy" mental health issues, the ones everybody is already talking about (depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and a -too brief- view on post traumatic stress disorder), instead of talking about the mental issues that are not on trend, such as schizophrenia.

• To prioritise what's funny, cute, or shocking over a real exploration of these illnesses. If I was a man wondering if I may be suffering any of those disorders, I'd leave the theatre with the same doubts I had before. More entertained, though.

• Bailey's (director) involvement in front of the camera doesn't feel right. She is either trying to show an empathy that doesn't go too deep, posing for the camera, or showing off her "Happinnes" and "great nature" in the face of these Men and their illnesses.

• The trained eye will find Bailey leading some of the conversations with either the Men or their families.

• The ambiguous (maybe romantic?) relationship between John, the oldest Man in the movie (70+?), and Bailey (late 30's?). Not sure what that all is about. Sure love comes in all shapes and ages, but in the case it risks to move the conversation and dialogue about the movie in a different direction.

All and all, an agreeable movie with some cute bits that had all the potential and resources to go deep in a very important topic, but where the director has chosen to remain on the surface, indulgent, leaving the audience with a smile instead of opening new perspectives on men mental health.