Last October, Netflix released a feature documentary directed by Jonah Hill. It instantly leapt to my attention through the platform’s recommendation engine, but its buzz reached me from all directions. Still, it took my wife bringing it up in January for us to make the time and screen it together. For the record, it has changed my life.
Even in the trailer, Hill acknowledges the oddness of “a patient making a documentary about his therapist” (his words). Beyond that, I find Hill to be a fascinating and multi-talented person, and Dr. Stutz to be a bona fide gem. Even more specifically, with his process and his tools, the good doctor has helped the filmmaker immeasurably. To bring those tools to the attentions of others and facilitate understanding, Hill presents them methodically, then uses his own experiences to bring the lessons home in some surprising and authentic ways.
If you widen your research on this project, you will quickly find that a lot of people have drilled into its contents, pulled out the details on the toolset, and paid the knowledge forward in their own ways. This type of virtuous circle is of immense inspiration for yours truly.
In my own notes from the screening, I transcribed Dr. Stutz’s three inescapable aspects of life (pain, uncertainty, and constant work). The String of Pearls also resonated with me deeply, calling to mind the volumes of journal entries I have created and compiled over the past few decades, and all the value I have received from that diligence.
Further discussions around the doctor’s “life force” heading brought my entire existence into perspective. Since seeing the film and rewatching it a few times, my outlook has been elevated, and I have found more peace in being.
I am grateful to both of these gentlemen for putting their talents together to create a wondrous gift that is sure to keep on giving what the world so dearly needs. If there really is must-see TV, this is it, in my book.
