Ben Oliver

Now
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film

Soul

You can’t crush a soul here. That’s what life on Earth is for.
27 December 2020

A passionate jazz musician, unhappy with his job as a school teacher, has a near-death experience just as he gets his big break. As he lies in hospital his soul is transported out of his body and he must try to find his way back.

Pixar’s latest attempt to help kids out with their existential crises is ambitious and largely successful. It’s hard to avoid comparisons to Inside Out, Coco and Ratatouille but this film focuses more closely on understanding our place in the world than any of these.

Soul suggests that being in the groove while doing something you love is a spiritual experience, and shows how fine the line is between passion and life-ruining obsession. It’s not afraid to say that there’s more to life than just following your passion, which is a message most Hollywood movies seem to shrug off.

Perhaps this film doesn’t pack the emotional punch that other Pixar films do, but its sage and level headed life advice is something to be applauded.