This is one of those rare movies which comes alone only once in a long time.

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2008)

"Maybe happiness is something we can only pursue. And maybe we can actually never have it, no matter what," says Chris Gardner (Will Smith). It's the driving introspective thought behind Italian director Gabriele Muccino's film, The pursuit of Happiness (2006), and it questions the justice and validity of the American dream as we see Chris attempting to reach his own goal.
The film opens with a series of establishing shots indicative of the 1981 San Francisco setting as well as several close-up shots focusing on the portable bone density scanner, a device that produces slightly higher quality images than x-rays. As the plot begins to unfold, the audience quickly discovers the extent of the Gardner family's financial troubles. Flash back to the young family's brighter past: they have decided to invest their life's savings in the aforementioned scanners with the intention of selling them to hospitals for a profit. However, clients find the product too expensive. The scanners prove arduous to sell, and the financial burdens begin to surmount.
Eventually, Chris' wife moves to New York for a better life, leaving Chris and their son, Christopher (Jaden Smith) behind. Chris, desperate for money decides to participate n a unpaid internship which only promises employment to one candidate at the end of the trial. Financial troubles continue to grow, forcing Chris and his son into homelessness. In spite of hardships, Chris tries to maintain a semblance of family life for his son and relies on selling his last remaining scanners for income. Thus, the scanners become a symbol of hope, the sustaining force that propels us onward toward out dreams, which to Chris is so important that he would literally chase after it.
The acting of Will Smith was perfect for the character he was portraying. Few other actors could have express such pure paternal emotion, Though, much of this can be attributed to the role of Christopher having been cast to Will Smith's own son, Jaden, whose child-like innocence underscores the theme of fulfilling one's dreams by empowering Chris' will in order to continue moving foreword. Camera direction also underscores this movement from a bright past through a darkened period of hardship and uncertainty and ultimately into an enlightened future.
This is one of those rare movies which comes alone only once in a long time. It doesn't simply thrust emotion upon the audience, but rather arouses true sympathy, enabling the viewer to come away with a greater sense of self determination and value in their own dreams. Though at time the plot may progress slowly, this film is worth every moment spent watching.