The Laughing Heart (2012) User Reviews

Tiny though it is, it's still a beautifully uplifting piece of work.

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 9/10 · 3 August 2014]

A marvellous little film by Travis Carr, showcasing "The Tainted Heart", a poem by Charles Bukowski, misspelled in the credits as "BuCowski.." The simple yet profoundly powerful words are given life by a great narration by Tom Waits and the spartan moody black and white animation style and imagery heightens the impact up to a grand scale. It is a beautifully hopeful motivational poem, but something about the way it's presented here with the music and visuals makes it to me, seem also somewhat haunting and poignant. Very enigmatic title.. I mean that's supposed to be a good thing, isn't it? A heart that laughs is surely a happy heart. It's astonishing how the sense of humour can long out-live most everything else in the personally, I believe that if you are unable to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all sometimes, then there's really just no point. I mean sometimes you just *have* to laugh, I'd probably laugh at my own funeral if I could! The message does seem to be that the purpose of life is not merely to function, but to find something that makes you appreciate life and is worth living for, like perhaps a goal to help you realise your potential and self-worth, or to be with someone you love and who loves you to face the day with and walk hand-in-hand in the sun. Or just maybe it's simply to remember to breathe and stop to smell the proverbial roses every now and then, to try to live your life moment by moment, enjoying it for what it is instead of worrying about what it isn't, and finding a nice place to sit down somewhere and watch it all go by... And who knows maybe that's the whole point of our lives here, to suffer to gain a measure of peace, for anything that isn't earned is ultimately undeserved and meaningless. Hey if like me you really love this brief but awesome short I'd highly recommend you seek out the music video for the song "Everybody's Free to wear Sunscreen", by Baz Luhrmann. A very moving work of art and excellent short verse. Watch it, several times! Remember to try and keep that heart light!!!