AllMovie

When ad exec Anne-Marie (Anne-Marie Cadieux) takes a sabbatical, she finds herself compelled to use her time away to search for the meaning of happiness. Filmed as a quasi-documentary, Happiness Is a Sad Song finds Cadieux on the streets of Montreal with a video camera, asking passers by about their most basic life philosophies. Along with many strangers who are too fatigued by the summer heat to offer much more than sarcasm are a kind-hearted African musician and a confused drug addict.