Very well executed

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is divided into sections each about an aphorism. Lawyer Troy (Matthew McConaughey) is celebrating a win at a bar with his colleagues. Then he hits a pedestrian and decides to drive off. Walker (John Turturro) is a physics professor who is cheating on his wife Patricia (Amy Irving) and she suspects him. Beatrice (Clea DuVall) is a maid but her sweet blissful nature is shaken after getting run over by Troy. Gene (Alan Arkin) is a cynical insurance claims manager with family problems and bitter at his happy co-worker.There are interesting stories and good performances. The cast is amazing. It aspires to be philosophically deep and meaningful. The meandering nature of the story telling leaves me wondering if the movie is actually saying anything. The rotating characters do not allow the tension to build. It needs to rebuild every 15 minutes. I wonder if the movie would be a lot better following one character and dropping the philosophical pretense.

Highly inspired in Inãrritu's Amores Perros, Thirteen conversations about one thing follows the same non-linear narrative which made the first an absolutely masterpiece of the post-modern cinema. But yes, it don't has a third of the quality of Amores Perros. First of all, the lack of depth in the drama: the subject explored here, the happiness, barely turns into 'The Thing', which the title refers to. It's way too shallow. The characters stories looks like fairy tails that met each other in the end, instead of a story that leads the characters to met each other. Forced in my opinion. Also, the hell is the motivation of the girl to try suicide throwing herself in front of a car? She could've jumped from some building(actually, it's what most people do).But what bothers me a little bit more than the unconvincing and somewhat forced plot,was the interpretation of the actors. Apart from a somewhat good performance by Alan Arkim, the rest of the cast either overacted or underacted. This alone would change the film(to worse) even if the plot were so good as the one in Amores Perros.It's not worth a watch. 5.7/10

The film spans out few stories about some people as they deal with their day to day lives,i didn't understand the concept of the whole story,instead i felt it was sort of dull especially at the end,what message were they trying to deliver to the viewers by making them sit through 90-95 minutes is beyond my understanding ,well the film has nothing special in store,few sad people living their life hoping for a better tomorrow is the subject of the movie,i guess it been rated above 7 due to a real subject being dealt with,thats all there is about the movie,now that i have seen it i would advice on avoiding the film if possible.

Without counting the actual number, I am sure there were at least 13 conversations in this intriguing collection of character studies. It doesn't become clear until very late in the film that about 2 years are elapsing in the story line. The "one thing" (believe it or not) isn't sex, but happiness. The questions "why are we here" and "is this all there is" come up frequently. What makes life worth living? Is happiness a gift, or can it be acquired? Several characters experience ups and downs, while some seem chronically malcontent or skeptical. The ones who boast about having achieved greatness in their work soon become to doubt their accomplishments, while others are desperate to find a way to regain the joys they once knew. Coming to terms with mistakes made, as well as showing remorse for wrongs committed against others, each in their own way must conquer this one "thing".Along with effective acting from the entire cast, there are many other reasons why a film buff would enjoy this movie. Several brilliant camera shots, done in a mysterious stand-out color-scheme, are perfectly intermingled with the story to show reflection, a sense of deep thought. Outstanding editing, connecting separate scenes into a common idea, is clearly superior to most films.The sum of these characters spell out pessimism and gloom. Look for the middle-aged man with that undying optimism who has many scenes. When all others insist life is one big disappointment, this little guy will assure you that it really is just a bowl of cherries. We need more smiling optimists, and more films with that important message.