Soul (2020)

 Disclaimer: With this film coming out a few days ago, this will contain spoilers. 

 

I am already excited to watch this film again, and that is not something I say often.

 I am genuinely amazed at how Pixar can continue to think outside the box with the type of films they create. They never seem to fail to run out of ideas, and this movie, Soul, appears to add to their latest collection of incredible films that they have created.

 

Like some of its predecessors, Up (2009) and Inside Out (2015), I find myself learning something new about how society works. How people deal with significant changes affects their mental health and its struggles (Inside Out). Or they are coping with grief, being closed off from people resulting from it, struggling with trusting people (Up). Soul is no different; there is no predictability about it, making it stands out even more from the films mentioned above.

 

Soul dives into the life of Joe Gardner (played by Jamie Foxx), a middle school band teacher. He's rather good too (I would have appreciated music a lot more with a teacher like him). As we see here, life has dealt him some problematic cards, and it has not gone the way that he would have expected. His dream was to play jazz and be a professional musician, following his father's footsteps.

 

However, this all seems to change when he gets a call from a former student, asking him if he wants to play with a respected musician Dorothea Williams. Which seems like a no-brainer for Joe. In the midst of all this, you can see that Joe has tunnel vision for jazz music and only jazz music, which ends up costing him rather dearly ( I won't say how; make sure you watch)

 

Throughout the film, Joe had always believed that jazz was his true calling, and it was what it meant to have Soul. He thought that it was his purpose, and that probably clouded his outlook on life. Joe realizes what it means to have Soul through a visit to another realm and meeting some fantastic characters. He understood the beauty of life, which is worth living. As human beings, we have a purpose, whatever that may be. But we have Soul too.

 

The visuals are so pleasing to the eye, and it is incredibly life-like. I have to give Pixar credit for how far they have come with their animation skills. The visuals complement the storyline so well that there is so much life going on and nothing about it looks cartoonish. The music, the brief jazz solos that we hear from Joe Gardner, was hypnotizing- that little piano riff in the opening scene was gripping. I wish we heard more; it was beautiful to listen to and a real salute to jazz music.

 

It is not the perfect film, but all the components coming together makes it a relatively strong one. Sure there are some weak points, but because all the areas were substantial, it makes for a beautiful movie.

 

I cannot recommend this movie enough, do check it out. I will love to hear your thoughts on this film if you have seen it already. If you haven't, go check it out and let me know your thoughts!

 

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas holiday thus far. Continue to be merry, with some Shloer or Super malt, whatever tickles your fancy.

 

Till next time

 

 

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Picture reference: https://www.disney.com.au/movies/pixar-soul