This contains subtle spoilers.
This story of a man going through a midlife crisis marketed to audiences of all ages made me cry. It was an uplifting story that combined complex characters, musical elements, beautiful scenery/creativity, and a lot of lessons I never expected. The people looked like real people, it was unapologetically black and it was so heartwarming and inspiring to finish as it explored the human experience in a whimsical manner.
The movie starts out with a middle school music teacher, Joe Gardner, who is very passionate about jazz music and wants to become a professional musician. When he suddenly gets a chance of a lifetime to perform with some top-notch jazz musicians, he falls into a drain and gets accidentally transported to the mystical world of souls where he meets 22, an old soul who has no desire to come to live in the real world.
What I thought this movie was going to be about was the journey of Gardner finding his life purpose of becoming the best jazz musician, rediscovering his love of the arts while mentoring other people. Although the movie seemed to touch on this cliche for a bit, it turned around and became a movie about exploring existential crises and the age-old question of what am I doing with my life? What makes me, me?
Pixar portrays Joe as almost self-centered throughout the beginning of the movie, but not in a selfish or negative way, just as someone who is dedicated to achieving his goals and is solely focused on that path. It’s an almost “Remember to stop and smell the roses” type of message as it suddenly dawns on him that in the pursuit of making his entire life all about jazz, he forgot to slow down and listen to what was going on around him. This lesson rings so true in this self-promoting and individualistic society we live in today, as I saw elements of me and people around me reflected in Joe’s career-driven mindset. Oftentimes we’re so self-absorbed in our own lives and goals, we don’t take the time to notice what goes on around us. When Joe actually opened himself to other opportunities and people with the help of 22, he found out new information from people he had known his whole life.
Another big takeaway I drew from Soul was the very subtle message of how your passion does not have to be the same thing as your purpose. For almost the entirety of the movie, Joe believes that every soul has this one purpose they’re going towards but when he does achieve his presumed “soul purpose” and performs at the venue, it’s not as fulfilling as he thought it would be. In what I believe to be one of the most iconic scenes of the movie, Dorothea shares a tidbit of advice for the worn-out Joe:
“I heard this story about a fish, he swims up to an older fish and says: ‘I’m trying to find this thing they call the ocean.’
‘The ocean?’ the older fish says, ‘that’s what you’re in right now.’
‘This’, says the young fish, ‘this is water. What I want is the ocean!’”
He stressed so much about one facet of his life that it detracted away from the other things that life has to offer. He was looking for the ocean when he was swimming in it the whole time. “Your spark isn’t your purpose,” Joe reminds 22. Your passions don’t define your life as life is so fluid and ever-changing just like you are. Essentially the movie’s big message is to enjoy life and live in the moment instead of spending your life trying to chase one moment, one future, one mindset.
In the end, the movie closes with one of the many Jerry souls asking the all-important question of how Joe will spend his second chance at life. Joe responds:
“I’m not sure, but I do know I’m gonna live every minute of it.”
