• Patch Adams: An unconventional healer dares to raise up joy as a way of life, demonstrating that often the best medicine for patients is laughter, love, compassion, and play.
  • Awakenings: A doctor and his patient discover the deep down joy of life when caring rather than curing is the main emphasis in treatment.
  • Little Big Man: A picaresque masterpiece revolves around an American anti-hero whose adventures in the Wild West are characterized by the robust vitalities of comedy and the sharp blows of tragedy.
  • The Spitfire Grill: A soul-satisfying movie depicts the spiritual process of turning pain into joy and bringing new life out of darkness.
  • Waking Ned Devine: A playful comedy set in a small Ireland community encourages us to catch joy as it flies.
  • Pippi Longstocking: An animated feature film about a nine-year-old heroine comes across as an unbridled paean to joy.

Music and dance movies as exhibitions of joy:

  • Only the Strong Survive: A joyous tribute to soul music features some of the best singers of the 60s and 70s strutting their stuff on stage.
  • Cool & Crazy: A beguiling documentary about a 30-man choir in a tiny Norwegian fishing village salutes the cathartic effect of singing.
  • Ecstatic Dance: A dance workshop celebrates joy, movement, and rhythm.
  • Bootmen: A raucous and rowdy Australian film shows how dance becomes an inspiring and energizing force in a community facing the loss of jobs.
  • Burn the Floor: Forty-four of the world's best ballroom dancers from fifteen countries strut their stuff.
  • Tango: Director Carlos Saura presents the passion, exotic footwork, and sexual undertow of the tango, along with cultural, political, and spiritual history in Argentina.

More Films about Joy