Jacob the Baker (2023) Movie Script
1
[TRAFFIC IN DISTANCE]
[HELICOPTER PASSES OVERHEAD]
[PHONE VIBRATES]
Dammit.
Hey, I'm on my way.
Yeah, no worries. I got this.
Another author shares his
wisdom.
Yeah, just...
how many more of these feel good
stories
do I have to do?
Yeah, I get that they have their
place.
But, Frank, what's my place?
Give me a shot at hard news.
Assign me a breaking story,
or...
[SLURPS]
It's more than just a career to
me...
It's... it's a calling.
Hmm...
Frank, what I keep asking is
that you give me a real story.
I need to do something that
matters.
I'm dying here.
Yeah, I got it.
But I'm going to keep asking.
[RUSHING FOOTSTEPS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR SHUTS]
[PHONE VIBRATES]
[GENTLE PIANO THEME MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
[WATER SPLASHES]
[ORCHESTRAL THEME MUSIC]
[PHONE VIBRATES]
[SLURPS]
[MINTS RATTLE]
[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]
[CAR BREAKS]
[WRISTBAND TEARS]
[THEME MUSIC SWELLS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR OPENS]
Sorry I'm late.
It's all right.
Coffee?
Tea? Water?
You need more time with the
menu?
Humor, was not expecting that.
I'm good. Ready to go.
Let's roll.
Noah,
into 18 languages
and embraced by millions around
the world.
You created Jacob the Baker,
and a series of books about him.
For people who haven't read the
books,
who is Jacob?
What's his story?
[NOAH CHUCKLES]
What's his story?
Jacob is a poor but pious baker
who lives an anonymous life
in a timeless world.
While he's waiting for the ovens
to come to temperature in the
morning,
he writes little notes to
himself,
trying to make sense of life to
himself.
Unknown to him,
one of his notes
falls in the mixer, gets baked
into a loaf of bread. And the
woman
who purchases that bread comes
upon
the note is incredibly moved
by what she feels
is insightful
and understanding of her life.
She rushes to the bakery to see
how this note wound up in her
bread.
And there she meets Jacob the
Baker.
And soon
the world discovers that there
is someone
rather amazing
living among them
who doesn't yearn to be amazing,
but is there to answer their
questions
about prayer and life
and friendship and loss.
And Jacob is deeply
compassionate,
passionately caring.
I think that caring
is the true magnetism between
people.
Jacob and I, we have the same
agenda.
As I've come to know.
I think I have an understanding
why I'm here...
in this lifetime.
Okay, so why are you here?
I am witness
that people from around the
world
are calling out to Jacob for
advice.
And I'm trying to be a source of
strength to others.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
We're all surprised to discover
what's calling to us in this
lifetime.
I feel that you are being called
out now.
If you need to deal with that,
please know, I'm good with that.
I'm fine. And who's interviewing
who here?
Don't we often ask each other
that in life?
I suppose we do.
So you're telling me
that you receive letters
for Jacob from around the world
asking for advice?
What is he? Santa Claus?
I mean, why would anyone seek
help from a fictional character?
All of us
find ourself at some moment in
our life
in need of help...
and support.
Vulnerability is the shared
brotherhood
and sisterhood of humanity.
It is not a weakness.
It is a reminder
that we are all frail, that we
all fall.
And that is the shared human
experience.
I'd like you to know
that I know you're here to
interview me,
but I welcome you to stay here
for the show and see,
maybe it isn't quite a show.
Thanks for the invitation.
I'll try, but I do have a prior
commitment.
So, who's going to answer these
letters?
You or Jacob?
I one time
woke up in a hotel room in
London,
and next to my bed was a note
that said, "I write things wiser
than I am."
People have asked this often,
"Are you and Jacob the same
person?"
And my response is, after 40
years,
and it still holds true.
Yes, Jacob and I in
many ways are the same person.
Except I'm the one with
character flaws.
Is this your way of being
humble?
[CHUCKLES]
That's my way of being honest.
My mother said, "A good person
is anyone
who is trying to be a better
person."
What does your father say?
My father said, "Things don't
have to be good for you to be
great."
Do you think about your parents
often?
I miss them often.
I deeply, deeply
deeply
miss them often.
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC PLAYS]
[WOMAN NARRATING IN ITALIAN]
My dear friend Jacob,
I write to you and address you
as my dear friend because I
desperately need a friend |
a patient friend who will listen
to my story.
My mother died when I was very
young, so I never really
knew my mother or what it meant
to be a mother.
My father was very successful
but married to his success.
So, when I was a girl, I was
left in my own world.
I became the queen of make
believe in the kingdom of my
dolls.
I would spend hours coloring
pictures of how I wanted my
dolls to dress.
I would cut pictures from my
mother's fashion magazines,
Not once did I promise myself
that I would be a mother.
To be a mother was not in my
picture of me.
But now I know that if you want
to give God a good laugh, tell
Her your plans.
Yes, I love my son.
Jacob, my son needs me.
Please help me understand how I
can unlock the best in me,
and know how I can be fulfilled
in ways I yet don't understand.
[NOAH'S VOICE FADES IN]
Help me to be the mother I never
had.
I know this is a lot to ask.
But I am asking for my son
who deserves the world.
[WOMAN NARRATING IN ITALIAN]
I am a mother in need of
mothering,
[WOMAN NARRATING IN ITALIAN]
in Milan.
Everything in this lifetime is a
transactional
trade.
I give you money, you give me
food.
I buy gas, I get to go here.
The exceptions are parenting and
teaching.
In parenting and in teaching
what you get
is the opportunity to give.
[TEXTING ON PHONE]
[GENTLE MUSIC PLAYS]
[MILK SPILLS]
The average child will fall 300
times
before they learn to walk.
But nobody ever learned to run
until they
learned to walk on their own two
feet.
Don't let your kids
confuse falling with failing.
[PLAYING WITH ACTION FIGURES]
Inside every parent is a child
needing to be loved.
[SIGHS]
[PLAYING WITH ACTION FIGURES]
Of all the things
you can give your children,
give them your time.
[COMPUTER CHIMES]
My mother
was born and lost her mother a
week later.
My mother was put into an
orphanage
at a week of age.
She came out of the orphanage
at 14 to work full-time
as a cashier in a butcher shop
and learned that she was going
to get the love
she never got by being loving.
I have been blessed to be born
on that bus
with my mother driving honk,
honk,
teaching us to give love
if you want to receive love.
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC SWELLS]
[OFFICE PHONES RING]
How are you as a father, Noah?
Did you model your parenting
after your mother?
Both my father and mother
were teachers in my life.
And when I've been called upon
by others
to try and see how they're going
to pass strength to their
children,
I remind people that the way to
pass strength
is by being open to being
vulnerable.
A number of years back,
I was a fellow at a long-range
think tank.
And when I came home in the
afternoon
and my daughter was very young,
she would run at me as I got
down on my
haunches to say hi to her when I
got home.
And as soon as she ran into me,
she would
knock me over. When she knocked
me over,
she was knocking over somebody
who was a source of strength in
her life.
And by in turn, she gained
strength.
Our children, our sons and
daughters
are going to find that in this
lifetime
there will come a time in each
life
when it will rain hard on you.
And if you in your lifetime have
learned from your parents,
from a mother or a father,
or from somebody who matters to
you,
that there will be tough times.
And you will get knocked over,
and you will stand up again,
and you will carry on.
That, I think, is as much as we
can pass to our children.
[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]
[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]
[BOTH GIGGLE]
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
My friends,
do not kiss your children
so they will kiss you back
but so they will kiss their
children
and their children's children.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
Only God gives us moments.
Take the moment and open it.
That's the highest
way of saying thank you.
[SIGHS]
Thank you.
All good.
Let's continue.
Noah, you respond to people as
Jacob
and provide help.
But you provide help as well.
You've been working for years
with people struggling for
sobriety.
I have been working for many
years with people
dealing with the issue of
sobriety
because the issue of addiction
is an international disaster.
Addiction is a reflection
that something else in
your life isn't working
and you're not dealing with it.
Addiction
is a tragedy.
[FIERY EXPLOSION]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[HELICOPTERS OVERHEAD]
[DISTANT GUNFIRE]
[BULLETS FLYING]
[BULLETS HIT THE GROUND]
[BULLETS HIT THE GROUND]
[FIRE BURNING]
[DISTANT EXPLOSION]
[MAN NARRATING IN HEBREW]
Dear Jacob,
So, I was the guy who was there
to protect and help others.
But now I'm the one who needs
help.
[HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING]
And I saw too many, too many,
people die.
Then I couldn't sleep, and I
became totally depressed.
But I didn't want anyone to know
I was falling apart.
So, I started drinking to hide
from myself and forget.
And I kept drinking. And now, I
can't stop. And I want to stop.
I need to stop.
But I don't have the courage to
stop.
I don't have the courage of
David facing Goliath.
And now the giant shadow of
Goliath is always over my
shoulder.
I know David said, "The Lord is
on my side and I am not afraid",
but my addiction frightens me.
I asked God who hears prayer to
hear my prayer.
But these days I guess God is
pretty busy, and probably pretty
disappointed in me.
[NOAH'S VOICE FADES IN]
Jacob, you are a wise and good
man.
I am a good man, too. But when
I'm drinking, my pain comes out
as anger.
And I'm a bad man ashamed to be
who I am even to the people
who I thought I could care for
and protect.
Now, I just feel so
alone
and helpless.
I am David without a stone
in the valley of despair.
Reach out to me, Jacob.
[MAN NARRATING IN HEBREW]
I am suffering in a bottle
[MAN NARRATING IN HEBREW]
in Israel.
[POIGNANT MUSIC SWELLS]
A great deal of addiction,
whether it's alcohol addiction,
spousal addiction, child abuse
is intergenerational,
dysfunctional family
experiences.
A lot of time people were
raised to think that beating
them self up
was an act of character.
Mea culpa,
mea culpa, mea culpa.
But the challenge isn't to be
self
abusive.
It's to be self accountable.
If you beat yourself up,
it's like telling a child,
"You're a fool."
If you tell a child he's a fool
for long
enough, you will be a prophet.
If you beat yourself up
that, "I am worthless, I deserve
this.
I brought this on myself."
Then two things will happen.
nothing because you've been busy
abusing yourself.
And you'll think
there'll be a catharsis in that.
But it'll be nothing
because you've just diminished
yourself.
So, you convinced yourself
you can't do anything about
yourself.
Self accountable, not self
abusive.
Don't confuse that beating
yourself up is an act of
character.
[POIGNANT MUSIC]
[SIRENS IN DISTANCE]
[FIRE BURNING]
All personal transformation
requires self witnessing.
That means
that you have to look at people
honestly.
Yes, that's honestly who they
were.
Were they that way because their
parents
were that way? Maybe.
But that doesn't diminish that
they were that way.
And it doesn't diminish that,
it's going to be your legacy.
It's going to be your going away
present.
All personal transformation
requires self witnessing.
[PEOPLE SPEAKING OUTSIDE]
When the great flood is written
about in the Bible
and Noah is told to build an
ark,
one of the things he's
told to build into the ark is a
window.
So, I asked myself for a long
time,
"Why does God tell
Noah to put a window in the
ark?"
He sure as heck doesn't need to
know
it's raining.
He knows it's raining.
He needs a window to know
when it stops raining.
[EMOTIONAL STRINGS]
In all of our lives, there will
come moments
when things so tough, so
unbearable,
so difficult to even know how
to begin to relate
to how we can deal with it.
We build an ark, a place
where we can retreat from life.
A place
where we can just retreat
and try to find solace
in the middle of a chaos that's
too great.
It's the loss of a parent.
It's the loss of a relationship.
It's the loss of a child, a war.
It's all of the things
which are entirely healthy to
retreat from
[FIRE BURNING]
because it is too much for you
to deal with.
Because you have an emotional
reaction
that overwhelms you,
that is a sign of help when
there is
something that overwhelms you.
[HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING]
I do tell people to go Teflon,
not Velcro in life.
But there are moments when you
have to
build an ark, escape into the
ark.
But my friends,
that is a temporary state of
affairs.
There will come a time
whatever caused you to retreat
from life
you are now invited back into
life.
And if you know somebody who you
love,
who you care for, who matters to
you,
and you've witnessed
that they've had to retreat from
life
because of any of life's
terrible things that can happen,
it is also your responsibility
to remind them
it's time to come out.
You're safe.
You don't have to stay in hiding
the rest of your life.
Do that for a friend.
Help them to come out of their
ark.
[PEOPLE PRAYING QUIETLY]
If you looked in the pocket
of a very wealthy person
in the 18th century,
you would find two pocket
watches.
And the reason you would find
two pocket watches is
because watches were inclined to
run down.
And when one watch wound down
or stopped, you would use the
other watch to reset it.
[SPEAKING IN HEBREW]
In this lifetime,
all of us will have a moment
when we run down.
And we will need to be reset
by the person next to us.
But before you become too
congratulatory
about being the person who
hasn't wound down,
who knows the time,
know this.
There will come a time
when you will need to be reset
by the person next to you.
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC SWELLS]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
Let me go back to Jacob for a
second.
Jacob is clearly a spiritual
character, but
what religion is he?
Hillel, the Elder
in the first century
B.C., said that, "The golden
rule
is the gravitational rule of
life."
Jesus said, "I am love."
Abu Bakr, the first Islam
Caliph,
said, "If you want the blessings
of Allah,
show kindness."
They asked the Dalai Lama
what his religion is.
He says, "I am a Buddhist,
but my religion is kindness."
Jacob the Baker says, "People of
all
faiths are of one faith
if their religion is kindness."
So, you're saying Jacob doesn't
have a specific religion.
But I've read your books, Noah.
Jacob is clearly talking to God.
Do you do you talk to God when
you're
writing your lines for your
show?
When I, when I come to an
evening like this,
I don't feel that I'm
stepping into a character.
I like to feel that I'm stepping
into what I hope is the better
man that is in me.
Are you telling me that you're
going out there for an hour and
a half
and winging it?
[NOAH CHUCKLES]
I'm telling you that faith has
wings.
So, this evening is an act of
faith
for you.
Every moment
in every life
is an act of faith.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[WOMAN NARRATING IN DANISH]
Dear Jacob the Baker, Man of
Faith,
I was raised to have faith in
God and was taught that God
would answer my prayers.
But I have lost my faith and my
way.
I still see myself as a good
Christian, but I am a lost
Christian.
Then I read your words, "None of
us have ever found our way who
have not felt lost."
And I felt your deeply spiritual
heart, so I am writing to you
for help.
[DETERMINED STRINGS FADE IN]
[RAIN PATTERING]
And I would listen, sort of,
but really I was watching the
birds flying overhead,
and to me they seemed like
angels, real angels.
Now I work as a commercial
photographer. So, my job is
literally manufacturing
realities.
And I only see the manipulated
lying and deception.
And in this world, there are no
angels.
What there is, is the absence of
God, or worse, a God that
doesn't care.
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
When I go home at night I can't
wait to take a bath and wash off
the day.
But after my day, I feel I have
been bathed in tears.
Because the world I see is not
the world my mother wanted me to
see.
[CAMERA ZOOMS]
[MUSIC BECOMES EMOTIONAL]
"HEADLINE NEWS: FAMILY KILLED IN
CAR ACCIDENT"
On Sundays I stand outside the
church I went to as a child
and envy those who are comforted
by the God they pray to.
But I don't feel God's comfort,
or any comfort.
I feel so alone.
[EXHALES]
[ANGELIC CHOIR SINGS]
Now I only have my tears for
company.
Jacob, I am missing Christ, and
I am hoping Christ is missing
me.
I so want to believe again,
Jacob, and believe again in the
power of prayer and faith.
[NOAH'S VOICE FADES IN]
And maybe even that in life
there can be miracles.
I need God's hand to reach out
to me,
or I need to know how I can
reach God.
Please send me
your wise and caring advice.
[WOMAN NARRATING IN DANISH]
I am feeling faithless
[WOMAN NARRATING IN DANISH]
in Denmark.
[CHOIR SINGS, EMOTIONAL MUSIC
SWELLS]
Well, first of all, let's be
straight.
The reason for religion is not
reason.
I don't pray because it makes
sense.
I pray because my life doesn't
make sense
without prayer.
Prayer is a path where there is
none.
Faith is a verb.
Don't have faith.
Be faith.
To be in faith is to be
internalized
in the experience.
To be in that moment.
And the moment opens,
when you open.
My friends,
none of us have ever found our
way
who have not felt lost.
[FLOATING MUSIC]
[FOOTSTEPS ECHOING]
[DANISH CHATTER]
[SPEAKING IN DANISH]
[GENTLE EMOTIONAL MUSIC]
[FOOTSTEPS ECHOING]
I one time tried to understand
why in prayer books
it says that we should ask for
peace
and blessing.
Because I said to myself, don't
you think that if you got a
blessing,
that would be as good as it got?
I mean, you got a blessing,
peace and blessing.
And across time, what I've come
to understand
is that when you think about
peace
and blessing,
that any peace you find in life
is its own blessing.
And any blessing
that does not bring you peace
is no blessing.
[SEAGULLS CALLING]
A lot of us think that the
connection
to the divine
or to God is a vertical line.
But the truth of it is,
if you look at the Ten
Commandments,
half of them are between God and
us.
And the other are between us and
us.
So, the line to reach
But no, it goes deeper than
that. Because
the relationship with God
is an internal relationship
that allows you
into a horizontal relationship
with others, which lead you into
a divine relationship.
[EMOTIONAL STRINGS]
Of all the things you can make
in life,
why not make a difference?
Take a breath and hold your
breath.
Now, if you want to take another
breath,
you have to release your breath.
In order to be made more,
you have to become less.
The Scripture says
that the first person was
created
when God blew into the red
earth.
And the word for red in Hebrew
is Adam. Why the first person is
named
Adam comes from the red earth.
When God blew into the red or
the
first person was filled with
God's breath,
he was literally
inspired to be filled with
breath.
The first person was filled with
breath.
But how long could he hold his
breath?
The only thing he could do
was release his breath
and Eve said, thank you.
So, the breath of God that was
first
keeps going, passed and passed
and passed. We're all inspired,
my friends.
We're all filled with the first
breath.
That's the only way it can play.
You're all inspired.
[HOPEFUL MUSIC]
If you know
that God loves you, then you
matter.
And if you matter, other people
matter.
To almost any question you have,
Jacob the Baker says, "Caring,
caring is the right answer."
[SEAGULLS CALLING, FLAPPING
WINGS]
[MUSIC SWELLS]
[ANGELIC VOICE SINGS]
[HOPEFUL MUSIC SWELLS]
[PHONE VIBRATES]
I'm sorry.
Take your time.
[SPEAKING ON PHONE]
Yes. Sorry about that.
Do you have the test results?
I'm at work right now, I
can't...
[DOOR SHUTS]
Okay.
Thank you.
[EXHALES]
[WATER RUNNING]
[EXHALES]
[TAKES A BREATH]
[PAPER TOWELS RUSTLE]
[EXHALES]
[TAKES A BREATH]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR SHUTS]
[SLIDES BOWL ON TABLE]
Thank you.
[SIGHS]
[CHEWING]
[GENTLE, EMOTIONAL MUSIC FADES
IN]
I'll take that smile
for a positive response.
It's delicious.
Thank you.
How are you doing?
You feeling okay?
Speaking of that,
how are you feeling, Noah?
Your performance is in an hour.
Are you nervous?
Is this stressful to go on stage
without having your lines
written for you?
You know, a lot of us
think that stress sharpens our
game.
But I think that if you think
stress
is a positive force in your
life,
it's like somebody who sets
their pants
on fire in hopes of staying
warm.
When I'm doing what I'm doing
here,
I don't feel
that I'm talking to an audience.
I'm speaking in some way
with people who are an extension
of myself.
So, I'm in a communication
that requires the integrity,
the honesty that we bring
to fully be in the moment.
Honesty is what we have between
ourselves
and others.
Integrity is when we are at one
with ourself, when we are in a
state
of congruency with who we are.
So, if you know who you are,
if you are at one with yourself,
you can't forget your lines.
Who else would you be?
Every relationship requires
that we bring honesty
to that time together.
Or that time will be lost.
And believe me,
it will be honestly lost.
[MELODIC CELLO]
[MAN NARRATING IN KOREAN]
Dear Jacob the Baker,
I am no longer young,
and I married my wife when we
were both very young.
Then I would come home from work
and we would sit and talk about
our day.
But now, when I come home, we
are in silence.
We are apart even when we are
together.
Now there is no fire, just
silence.
[UTENSILS CLANK]
We are in a long marriage but we
are strangers.
The fault is shared. But I have
a big piece of that fault.
[WASHING DISHES]
One night, for the first time
ever, I cheated on my wife.
"WIFE"
I was stupid. I know that. And I
am so ashamed of myself.
[EMOTIONAL CELLO MELODY]
I have not told my wife about
this. I don't know what to say
to her.
I don't even know what to say to
myself.
And each day I wake up, I feel I
don't even know myself.
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC SWELLS]
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
I am considered a successful
architect.
But I am a failure to me. And to
her.
We share the silence,
but I destroyed the foundation
of my integrity and of my
marriage.
Jacob...
[NOAH'S VOICE FADES IN]
Please, please help me repair
what we fractured, and I have
broken.
[MAN NARRATING IN KOREAN]
Thank you.
[MAN NARRATING IN KOREAN]
Ashamed in Korea.
I always think that Adam and Eve
had the perfect relationship.
He didn't have to hear about all
the men
she could have married,
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
and she didn't have to hear
about how good his mother
cooked.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
Some woman came up to
me after a talk and said...
I like this question...
"Jacob, I want to talk to you.
My husband is not the man he he
once was."
I said, that's...
I knew this wasn't a Viagra
conversation.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
I knew where this was going.
I said, that's very interesting.
But the question isn't,
if he's not the man he once was,
but the question is
whether you're prepared
to accept him for the man
he might yet become.
And your willingness to do
that is premised on your
willingness
to accept yourself for the
person
you might yet become.
When Picasso painted
a picture of this great poet,
she said, "It doesn't look like
me."
He said, "You will."
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
[EMOTIONAL STRINGS]
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
If you're looking for love,
Falling in love is very
different
from landing.
[EXHALES]
Sometimes you have to chop wood
to fuel passion.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
"WIFE"
[WATER RUNNING]
[EMOTIONAL STRINGS SWELL]
Aristotle said
that, "Honesty is the portal to
all wisdom."
We can generally agree
that Aristotle was a pretty
smart guy.
But if honesty is the portal
to all wisdom,
humility is the portal to all
honesty.
Honesty is what we tell others.
Integrity is what we tell
ourselves.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
All private deceit becomes
public deceit.
If you are dishonest to
yourself,
you will be dishonest to others.
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
Love without honesty is
betrayal.
But honesty without love is
cruelty.
[GENTLE, NOSTALGIC MUSIC]
[WIND BLOWS]
Life is short.
If you find love, be loving.
If you honestly want a life you
can love,
love being honest.
"WIFE"
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC SWELLS]
When I was a kid and I'd come
home
after being out for the evening,
my mother would be waiting for
me.
She'd be sitting there with a
cup of tea
and a green cup
I thought we got somewhere at a
give away
for buying enough
gas or groceries or something.
And she'd be there waiting for
me
to come home
to tell her how the evening
went,
how I was doing.
Was I okay?
She'd been sitting there with
her
hair in rollers in her house
dress that had seen so many
years.
[EMOTIONAL THEME FADES IN]
And in the spirit of my mother,
I want you to know
that I will be sitting
up late in my own life,
listening
for how you're doing,
listening, that you're okay.
Listening, that you're finding a
way
to deal with all the things
you have to deal with in your
life,
because we all find things
we have to deal with in our
life.
And I'll be there.
My mother wouldn't have it any
other way.
And I wouldn't either.
I'll be there
listening for you
and praying for you.
You know, I believe that.
[TAKES A BREATH]
When we meet each other,
when people meet each other,
it is in the presence of God.
[ANGELIC CHOIR SINGS]
Thank you for your time, Noah,
and
good luck tonight.
[AUDIENCE CHATTER]
[INTRIGUING MUSIC]
[NOAH PRAYS QUIETLY]
Blessed art thou
Who has created us
and sustained us
who brought us
to this season of our lives.
Let me be a source of joy for
you.
A reflection of your light
I pray.
Amen.
[EMOTIONAL THEME SWELLS]
[CITY AMBIENCE]
[MUSIC BECOMES QUIET,
SUSPENSEFUL]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[EMOTIONAL PIANO MUSIC]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDS]
Thank you.
Thank you.
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDS]
[TRAFFIC, CARS PASS BY]
[PHONE CHIMES]
[CAR PULLS UP]
[CAR DOOR OPENS]
Hey, how's it going?
How's it going?
It's going all right.
[CAR DOOR SHUTS]
Jacob the Baker?
What is that? Like a Food
Network guy?
More of a food for thought guy,
maybe.
Maybe more of a food for thought
guy.
[NOAH CHUCKLES]
You ready to go?
Brother,
I'm ready to stop.
Me too, man.
Me too.
[CAR DRIVES OFF]
Hard day?
Yeah, don't get me started.
Tell me.
I'm a pretty good listener.
Pretty sharp dresser, too.
No way you're going to relate to
my worries.
You know, clothes can be a
costume in life.
Don't be confused.
I come from a blue-collar
family.
Low on dough,
a lot of love.
Too bad love can't pay the
bills.
Or tuition, for that matter.
You got any kids?
I got kids who got kids.
Tell me about your kids.
Yeah, we got a daughter.
Yeah.
She starts applying to college
this year.
You know, it's funny,
my wife and I, we, uh,
we barely made it through high
school,
but our girl,
she's going all the way.
It's a great moment in life when
you know
your kids are going to soar
higher
than you ever flew.
Yep. She is soaring.
Yeah, well...
meanwhile, we're soaring in
debt.
[DRIVER LAUGHS]
I like that laugh.
Keep that laugh, brother.
All right, I will.
It's good to laugh, right?
It's been a while.
You're working all day and
driving at night.
It's no fun.
Or funny.
I'm sorry, man.
I don't...
I don't hear you whining.
What I'm hearing is the load
that you're carrying.
That's what I'm hearing.
Yeah, well, you got no idea.
No one ever knows
the weight of a pack
on another person's back.
Nobody knows what another man is
carrying.
Yeah, that's true.
Me and my wife, you know, we're
the grin-and-bear-it types, you
know?
Just been too tired lately
you know, to grin anymore.
What do you do when you get
down?
Oh, I get down.
And when I get down,
I count my blessings.
And then I think about my
leather jacket.
[SLURPS]
I get the blessings.
But... what about the jacket?
I knew that would get you
curious.
[DRIVER LAUGHS]
It was something I always
wanted.
It was a really authentic
leather pilot's jacket, and
we couldn't afford it.
And it was in its own way
a reminder, "Hey, Noah,
you're too poor."
But you eventually got it?
Oh, yeah,
I got it.
And you know what else I get?
I tell you, I get that you're a
good man,
a good husband,
a good father,
and your "yes" is coming.
Yeah? How come you're so sure?
You want to know why I'm so
sure?
Yeah. Look at that mirror.
I want you to look at
that, look at yourself in the
mirror.
Don't get us in an accident.
Just look at that mirror a bit.
I want to tell you that some
people
have "no" written across their
forehead
and some people have "yes"
written across their forehead.
Look in that mirror. Well,
look at your "yes".
You got "yes" written
big letters all across your
forehead.
I just see exhaustion.
I'm gonna say it again.
Take a look.
I want you to see that "yes".
Look, you will see that "yes".
You will see it.
I am "yes".
Yes, you are.
I am "yes".
Yeah, you are.
Let me hear it again.
I am "yes"!
Loud and proud!
I am "yes"!
Yes!
[DRIVER LAUGHS]
Yeah, I like that.
And the reminder you gave me to
count my blessings.
I mean, you
you are a blessing right
in my backseat, man.
It's very kind thing
for you to say. But I have one
thought,
one more thing I'd like you to
do for you.
I want you to honk your horn.
I want you to honk your horn
loudly.
Why?
That things are going to be good
for you and your wife and your
daughter.
Honk your horn.
Why not?
[HONKS HORN]
[HONKS HORN]
Look out, world
I'm coming through!
Amen!
[HONKS HORN]
Look out, "yes" man coming
through world!
Amen, Amen, Amen!
[HONKS HORN]
Whoo!
[EMOTIONAL THEME MUSIC FADES IN]
[CAR PULLS UP]
[CAR DOOR OPENS]
[CAR DOOR SHUTS]
Yes!
Yes!
Thanks a lot, man.
[CAR DRIVES OFF]
[HONKS HORN]
[LIGHT, EMOTIONAL THEME
CONTINUES]
[FIRE CRACKLES]
[TAPS ON LEATHER JACKET]
[TYPES ON KEYBOARD]
[COMPUTER CHIMES]
[POIGNANT, EMOTIONAL THEME]
Dear Jacob,
In my work,
I see people dealing with pain.
All kinds of pain, physical
pain, psychic pain,
and the pain of injustice and
hatred.
It is my job to face the pain of
others
and bear a reporter's witness to
it.
But now,
[HEART MONITOR BEEPS]
I am the one in pain.
My father, who has always been
my rock
and my greatest champion, is
dying.
I'm so grateful that my dad
isn't
suffering and is getting
excellent care.
I'm also comforted that he is at
peace
with his passing
and believes
we will be reunited in heaven.
But I don't believe in heaven.
I'm a believer in facts, not
faith.
So the promise of our
shared afterlife has no comfort
for me.
I am in pain in this life.
I'm living in constant fear
that today will be my dad's last
day,
his last breath,
and I live in fear of when he's
gone.
Jacob, I know you aren't real.
Yet, the fact is, your words
have provided
comfort to so many around the
world.
So, maybe you have words to help
me?
Signed,
Heartbroken daughter in Los
Angeles.
[QUIET, GENTLE PIANO]
[FOOTSTEPS]
[FIRE CRACKLES]
[TYPES ON KEYBOARD]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[NOAH NARRATING] There was a
time when my father
was struggling with the end of
his life.
Hello?
that I was abandoning
the honor of my father.
But in this lifetime,
the challenge is to be in the
moment you're in.
Honor the moment you're in with
someone
and honor the moment you're in
with someone else.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
To step out of grief and into
joy
is witnessing that you can be
sublimely blessed
and sublimely sad
simultaneously.
There's room for all of this
in your lifetime
at the same time.
Give the dignity to the moment
you have
and give dignity to the next
moment
you have and to the next moment
you have.
All time is simultaneous.
Time doesn't wear a watch.
Time isn't a day on a calendar.
[TRAFFIC IN DISTANCE]
God is never so with you
as when you feel alone.
The wind in your face
might be God blowing you kisses,
and the tears falling on your
cheeks
can also cause you to bloom.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[KEYS JINGLE]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR SHUTS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[FLOATING, GENTLE MUSIC]
I do know this...
not everyone who is crying
is crying out loud
and many of us are washed in
tears.
[SIGHS]
Memory is a secret garden.
Take a walk in that garden
with someone you loved.
Smell the incense of eternity.
The veil between the worlds is
very porous.
Those who have passed are not
gone.
It's the silence between the
notes
that makes the music.
I know that there is real
grief in life and real loss in
life.
Love the loss.
Don't allow stress to be the
relationship you have
with what you have lost.
[SHUTS SCREEN]
[FIRE CRACKLES]
[GENTLE PIANO]
[NOAH IN VIDEO]
Each of us is in the great
darkness
[NOAH IN VIDEO]
and each of us is on a journey.
In the process of our journey
we will bend to build a fire
for light and warmth and food.
But when our fingers tear at the
ground
hoping to find the coal of
another's fire,
what we often find are the
ashes.
And in these ashes,
which will not give us light or
warmth,
there may be sadness,
but there is also testimony.
Because I swear to you,
it means that someone else
has passed in this night.
Someone else has been on a
journey,
someone else has bent in the
night
and scratched at the ground
to create light and warmth,
and someone else has carried on.
And that can be enough sometimes
and that can be enough
sometimes.
[EMOTIONAL THEME FADES IN]
[WOMAN READING IN ITALIAN]
[BOTH LAUGH]
"ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS"
[HOPEFUL CELLO]
[CITY TRAFFIC]
"NURSING & CLINICAL LEADERSHIP"
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC]
[POIGNANT CELLO]
[WIND BLOWING]
[EMOTIONAL BRASS AND STRINGS]
[HOPEFUL CELLO MELODY]
[ORCHESTRAL THEME]
[MUSIC CRESCENDOS]
["BETTER TIMES" IS PLAYING]
Have you come to tell me
Of storms that lie ahead
Or have you come instead to
wake me
And take me to the moon
So I will know hope never
comes too soon
Have you come to tell me
Of worries I will fear
Or have you come instead to
sing to me
Of things I wait to hear
Oh, how I pray to know that
you are near
Will you come to walk me
To where I need to go
Cuz here and now is now and
here
In this moment we will grow
Open your eyes
Look around
You will know that hope has
come
Open your eyes
Look around
You'll see, better times have
now begun
Have you come to tell me
Memories of what is done
Or will you now remind me
All will pass, but,
Nothing's gone
Will you come to walk me
To where I need to go
Cuz here and now is now and
here
In this moment, in this
moment,
In this moment we will grow
Open, open
Open your eyes
Look around
You will know that hope has
come
Open, open
Open your eyes
Look around
You'll see, better times have
now
begun
Look around
You will know that hope has
come
Look around
The song of life has now
been sung
Better times have now
Begun.
[TRAFFIC IN DISTANCE]
[HELICOPTER PASSES OVERHEAD]
[PHONE VIBRATES]
Dammit.
Hey, I'm on my way.
Yeah, no worries. I got this.
Another author shares his
wisdom.
Yeah, just...
how many more of these feel good
stories
do I have to do?
Yeah, I get that they have their
place.
But, Frank, what's my place?
Give me a shot at hard news.
Assign me a breaking story,
or...
[SLURPS]
It's more than just a career to
me...
It's... it's a calling.
Hmm...
Frank, what I keep asking is
that you give me a real story.
I need to do something that
matters.
I'm dying here.
Yeah, I got it.
But I'm going to keep asking.
[RUSHING FOOTSTEPS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR SHUTS]
[PHONE VIBRATES]
[GENTLE PIANO THEME MUSIC]
[SIGHS]
[WATER SPLASHES]
[ORCHESTRAL THEME MUSIC]
[PHONE VIBRATES]
[SLURPS]
[MINTS RATTLE]
[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]
[CAR BREAKS]
[WRISTBAND TEARS]
[THEME MUSIC SWELLS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR OPENS]
Sorry I'm late.
It's all right.
Coffee?
Tea? Water?
You need more time with the
menu?
Humor, was not expecting that.
I'm good. Ready to go.
Let's roll.
Noah,
into 18 languages
and embraced by millions around
the world.
You created Jacob the Baker,
and a series of books about him.
For people who haven't read the
books,
who is Jacob?
What's his story?
[NOAH CHUCKLES]
What's his story?
Jacob is a poor but pious baker
who lives an anonymous life
in a timeless world.
While he's waiting for the ovens
to come to temperature in the
morning,
he writes little notes to
himself,
trying to make sense of life to
himself.
Unknown to him,
one of his notes
falls in the mixer, gets baked
into a loaf of bread. And the
woman
who purchases that bread comes
upon
the note is incredibly moved
by what she feels
is insightful
and understanding of her life.
She rushes to the bakery to see
how this note wound up in her
bread.
And there she meets Jacob the
Baker.
And soon
the world discovers that there
is someone
rather amazing
living among them
who doesn't yearn to be amazing,
but is there to answer their
questions
about prayer and life
and friendship and loss.
And Jacob is deeply
compassionate,
passionately caring.
I think that caring
is the true magnetism between
people.
Jacob and I, we have the same
agenda.
As I've come to know.
I think I have an understanding
why I'm here...
in this lifetime.
Okay, so why are you here?
I am witness
that people from around the
world
are calling out to Jacob for
advice.
And I'm trying to be a source of
strength to others.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
We're all surprised to discover
what's calling to us in this
lifetime.
I feel that you are being called
out now.
If you need to deal with that,
please know, I'm good with that.
I'm fine. And who's interviewing
who here?
Don't we often ask each other
that in life?
I suppose we do.
So you're telling me
that you receive letters
for Jacob from around the world
asking for advice?
What is he? Santa Claus?
I mean, why would anyone seek
help from a fictional character?
All of us
find ourself at some moment in
our life
in need of help...
and support.
Vulnerability is the shared
brotherhood
and sisterhood of humanity.
It is not a weakness.
It is a reminder
that we are all frail, that we
all fall.
And that is the shared human
experience.
I'd like you to know
that I know you're here to
interview me,
but I welcome you to stay here
for the show and see,
maybe it isn't quite a show.
Thanks for the invitation.
I'll try, but I do have a prior
commitment.
So, who's going to answer these
letters?
You or Jacob?
I one time
woke up in a hotel room in
London,
and next to my bed was a note
that said, "I write things wiser
than I am."
People have asked this often,
"Are you and Jacob the same
person?"
And my response is, after 40
years,
and it still holds true.
Yes, Jacob and I in
many ways are the same person.
Except I'm the one with
character flaws.
Is this your way of being
humble?
[CHUCKLES]
That's my way of being honest.
My mother said, "A good person
is anyone
who is trying to be a better
person."
What does your father say?
My father said, "Things don't
have to be good for you to be
great."
Do you think about your parents
often?
I miss them often.
I deeply, deeply
deeply
miss them often.
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC PLAYS]
[WOMAN NARRATING IN ITALIAN]
My dear friend Jacob,
I write to you and address you
as my dear friend because I
desperately need a friend |
a patient friend who will listen
to my story.
My mother died when I was very
young, so I never really
knew my mother or what it meant
to be a mother.
My father was very successful
but married to his success.
So, when I was a girl, I was
left in my own world.
I became the queen of make
believe in the kingdom of my
dolls.
I would spend hours coloring
pictures of how I wanted my
dolls to dress.
I would cut pictures from my
mother's fashion magazines,
Not once did I promise myself
that I would be a mother.
To be a mother was not in my
picture of me.
But now I know that if you want
to give God a good laugh, tell
Her your plans.
Yes, I love my son.
Jacob, my son needs me.
Please help me understand how I
can unlock the best in me,
and know how I can be fulfilled
in ways I yet don't understand.
[NOAH'S VOICE FADES IN]
Help me to be the mother I never
had.
I know this is a lot to ask.
But I am asking for my son
who deserves the world.
[WOMAN NARRATING IN ITALIAN]
I am a mother in need of
mothering,
[WOMAN NARRATING IN ITALIAN]
in Milan.
Everything in this lifetime is a
transactional
trade.
I give you money, you give me
food.
I buy gas, I get to go here.
The exceptions are parenting and
teaching.
In parenting and in teaching
what you get
is the opportunity to give.
[TEXTING ON PHONE]
[GENTLE MUSIC PLAYS]
[MILK SPILLS]
The average child will fall 300
times
before they learn to walk.
But nobody ever learned to run
until they
learned to walk on their own two
feet.
Don't let your kids
confuse falling with failing.
[PLAYING WITH ACTION FIGURES]
Inside every parent is a child
needing to be loved.
[SIGHS]
[PLAYING WITH ACTION FIGURES]
Of all the things
you can give your children,
give them your time.
[COMPUTER CHIMES]
My mother
was born and lost her mother a
week later.
My mother was put into an
orphanage
at a week of age.
She came out of the orphanage
at 14 to work full-time
as a cashier in a butcher shop
and learned that she was going
to get the love
she never got by being loving.
I have been blessed to be born
on that bus
with my mother driving honk,
honk,
teaching us to give love
if you want to receive love.
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC SWELLS]
[OFFICE PHONES RING]
How are you as a father, Noah?
Did you model your parenting
after your mother?
Both my father and mother
were teachers in my life.
And when I've been called upon
by others
to try and see how they're going
to pass strength to their
children,
I remind people that the way to
pass strength
is by being open to being
vulnerable.
A number of years back,
I was a fellow at a long-range
think tank.
And when I came home in the
afternoon
and my daughter was very young,
she would run at me as I got
down on my
haunches to say hi to her when I
got home.
And as soon as she ran into me,
she would
knock me over. When she knocked
me over,
she was knocking over somebody
who was a source of strength in
her life.
And by in turn, she gained
strength.
Our children, our sons and
daughters
are going to find that in this
lifetime
there will come a time in each
life
when it will rain hard on you.
And if you in your lifetime have
learned from your parents,
from a mother or a father,
or from somebody who matters to
you,
that there will be tough times.
And you will get knocked over,
and you will stand up again,
and you will carry on.
That, I think, is as much as we
can pass to our children.
[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]
[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]
[BOTH GIGGLE]
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
My friends,
do not kiss your children
so they will kiss you back
but so they will kiss their
children
and their children's children.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
Only God gives us moments.
Take the moment and open it.
That's the highest
way of saying thank you.
[SIGHS]
Thank you.
All good.
Let's continue.
Noah, you respond to people as
Jacob
and provide help.
But you provide help as well.
You've been working for years
with people struggling for
sobriety.
I have been working for many
years with people
dealing with the issue of
sobriety
because the issue of addiction
is an international disaster.
Addiction is a reflection
that something else in
your life isn't working
and you're not dealing with it.
Addiction
is a tragedy.
[FIERY EXPLOSION]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[HELICOPTERS OVERHEAD]
[DISTANT GUNFIRE]
[BULLETS FLYING]
[BULLETS HIT THE GROUND]
[BULLETS HIT THE GROUND]
[FIRE BURNING]
[DISTANT EXPLOSION]
[MAN NARRATING IN HEBREW]
Dear Jacob,
So, I was the guy who was there
to protect and help others.
But now I'm the one who needs
help.
[HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING]
And I saw too many, too many,
people die.
Then I couldn't sleep, and I
became totally depressed.
But I didn't want anyone to know
I was falling apart.
So, I started drinking to hide
from myself and forget.
And I kept drinking. And now, I
can't stop. And I want to stop.
I need to stop.
But I don't have the courage to
stop.
I don't have the courage of
David facing Goliath.
And now the giant shadow of
Goliath is always over my
shoulder.
I know David said, "The Lord is
on my side and I am not afraid",
but my addiction frightens me.
I asked God who hears prayer to
hear my prayer.
But these days I guess God is
pretty busy, and probably pretty
disappointed in me.
[NOAH'S VOICE FADES IN]
Jacob, you are a wise and good
man.
I am a good man, too. But when
I'm drinking, my pain comes out
as anger.
And I'm a bad man ashamed to be
who I am even to the people
who I thought I could care for
and protect.
Now, I just feel so
alone
and helpless.
I am David without a stone
in the valley of despair.
Reach out to me, Jacob.
[MAN NARRATING IN HEBREW]
I am suffering in a bottle
[MAN NARRATING IN HEBREW]
in Israel.
[POIGNANT MUSIC SWELLS]
A great deal of addiction,
whether it's alcohol addiction,
spousal addiction, child abuse
is intergenerational,
dysfunctional family
experiences.
A lot of time people were
raised to think that beating
them self up
was an act of character.
Mea culpa,
mea culpa, mea culpa.
But the challenge isn't to be
self
abusive.
It's to be self accountable.
If you beat yourself up,
it's like telling a child,
"You're a fool."
If you tell a child he's a fool
for long
enough, you will be a prophet.
If you beat yourself up
that, "I am worthless, I deserve
this.
I brought this on myself."
Then two things will happen.
nothing because you've been busy
abusing yourself.
And you'll think
there'll be a catharsis in that.
But it'll be nothing
because you've just diminished
yourself.
So, you convinced yourself
you can't do anything about
yourself.
Self accountable, not self
abusive.
Don't confuse that beating
yourself up is an act of
character.
[POIGNANT MUSIC]
[SIRENS IN DISTANCE]
[FIRE BURNING]
All personal transformation
requires self witnessing.
That means
that you have to look at people
honestly.
Yes, that's honestly who they
were.
Were they that way because their
parents
were that way? Maybe.
But that doesn't diminish that
they were that way.
And it doesn't diminish that,
it's going to be your legacy.
It's going to be your going away
present.
All personal transformation
requires self witnessing.
[PEOPLE SPEAKING OUTSIDE]
When the great flood is written
about in the Bible
and Noah is told to build an
ark,
one of the things he's
told to build into the ark is a
window.
So, I asked myself for a long
time,
"Why does God tell
Noah to put a window in the
ark?"
He sure as heck doesn't need to
know
it's raining.
He knows it's raining.
He needs a window to know
when it stops raining.
[EMOTIONAL STRINGS]
In all of our lives, there will
come moments
when things so tough, so
unbearable,
so difficult to even know how
to begin to relate
to how we can deal with it.
We build an ark, a place
where we can retreat from life.
A place
where we can just retreat
and try to find solace
in the middle of a chaos that's
too great.
It's the loss of a parent.
It's the loss of a relationship.
It's the loss of a child, a war.
It's all of the things
which are entirely healthy to
retreat from
[FIRE BURNING]
because it is too much for you
to deal with.
Because you have an emotional
reaction
that overwhelms you,
that is a sign of help when
there is
something that overwhelms you.
[HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING]
I do tell people to go Teflon,
not Velcro in life.
But there are moments when you
have to
build an ark, escape into the
ark.
But my friends,
that is a temporary state of
affairs.
There will come a time
whatever caused you to retreat
from life
you are now invited back into
life.
And if you know somebody who you
love,
who you care for, who matters to
you,
and you've witnessed
that they've had to retreat from
life
because of any of life's
terrible things that can happen,
it is also your responsibility
to remind them
it's time to come out.
You're safe.
You don't have to stay in hiding
the rest of your life.
Do that for a friend.
Help them to come out of their
ark.
[PEOPLE PRAYING QUIETLY]
If you looked in the pocket
of a very wealthy person
in the 18th century,
you would find two pocket
watches.
And the reason you would find
two pocket watches is
because watches were inclined to
run down.
And when one watch wound down
or stopped, you would use the
other watch to reset it.
[SPEAKING IN HEBREW]
In this lifetime,
all of us will have a moment
when we run down.
And we will need to be reset
by the person next to us.
But before you become too
congratulatory
about being the person who
hasn't wound down,
who knows the time,
know this.
There will come a time
when you will need to be reset
by the person next to you.
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC SWELLS]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
Let me go back to Jacob for a
second.
Jacob is clearly a spiritual
character, but
what religion is he?
Hillel, the Elder
in the first century
B.C., said that, "The golden
rule
is the gravitational rule of
life."
Jesus said, "I am love."
Abu Bakr, the first Islam
Caliph,
said, "If you want the blessings
of Allah,
show kindness."
They asked the Dalai Lama
what his religion is.
He says, "I am a Buddhist,
but my religion is kindness."
Jacob the Baker says, "People of
all
faiths are of one faith
if their religion is kindness."
So, you're saying Jacob doesn't
have a specific religion.
But I've read your books, Noah.
Jacob is clearly talking to God.
Do you do you talk to God when
you're
writing your lines for your
show?
When I, when I come to an
evening like this,
I don't feel that I'm
stepping into a character.
I like to feel that I'm stepping
into what I hope is the better
man that is in me.
Are you telling me that you're
going out there for an hour and
a half
and winging it?
[NOAH CHUCKLES]
I'm telling you that faith has
wings.
So, this evening is an act of
faith
for you.
Every moment
in every life
is an act of faith.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[WOMAN NARRATING IN DANISH]
Dear Jacob the Baker, Man of
Faith,
I was raised to have faith in
God and was taught that God
would answer my prayers.
But I have lost my faith and my
way.
I still see myself as a good
Christian, but I am a lost
Christian.
Then I read your words, "None of
us have ever found our way who
have not felt lost."
And I felt your deeply spiritual
heart, so I am writing to you
for help.
[DETERMINED STRINGS FADE IN]
[RAIN PATTERING]
And I would listen, sort of,
but really I was watching the
birds flying overhead,
and to me they seemed like
angels, real angels.
Now I work as a commercial
photographer. So, my job is
literally manufacturing
realities.
And I only see the manipulated
lying and deception.
And in this world, there are no
angels.
What there is, is the absence of
God, or worse, a God that
doesn't care.
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
When I go home at night I can't
wait to take a bath and wash off
the day.
But after my day, I feel I have
been bathed in tears.
Because the world I see is not
the world my mother wanted me to
see.
[CAMERA ZOOMS]
[MUSIC BECOMES EMOTIONAL]
"HEADLINE NEWS: FAMILY KILLED IN
CAR ACCIDENT"
On Sundays I stand outside the
church I went to as a child
and envy those who are comforted
by the God they pray to.
But I don't feel God's comfort,
or any comfort.
I feel so alone.
[EXHALES]
[ANGELIC CHOIR SINGS]
Now I only have my tears for
company.
Jacob, I am missing Christ, and
I am hoping Christ is missing
me.
I so want to believe again,
Jacob, and believe again in the
power of prayer and faith.
[NOAH'S VOICE FADES IN]
And maybe even that in life
there can be miracles.
I need God's hand to reach out
to me,
or I need to know how I can
reach God.
Please send me
your wise and caring advice.
[WOMAN NARRATING IN DANISH]
I am feeling faithless
[WOMAN NARRATING IN DANISH]
in Denmark.
[CHOIR SINGS, EMOTIONAL MUSIC
SWELLS]
Well, first of all, let's be
straight.
The reason for religion is not
reason.
I don't pray because it makes
sense.
I pray because my life doesn't
make sense
without prayer.
Prayer is a path where there is
none.
Faith is a verb.
Don't have faith.
Be faith.
To be in faith is to be
internalized
in the experience.
To be in that moment.
And the moment opens,
when you open.
My friends,
none of us have ever found our
way
who have not felt lost.
[FLOATING MUSIC]
[FOOTSTEPS ECHOING]
[DANISH CHATTER]
[SPEAKING IN DANISH]
[GENTLE EMOTIONAL MUSIC]
[FOOTSTEPS ECHOING]
I one time tried to understand
why in prayer books
it says that we should ask for
peace
and blessing.
Because I said to myself, don't
you think that if you got a
blessing,
that would be as good as it got?
I mean, you got a blessing,
peace and blessing.
And across time, what I've come
to understand
is that when you think about
peace
and blessing,
that any peace you find in life
is its own blessing.
And any blessing
that does not bring you peace
is no blessing.
[SEAGULLS CALLING]
A lot of us think that the
connection
to the divine
or to God is a vertical line.
But the truth of it is,
if you look at the Ten
Commandments,
half of them are between God and
us.
And the other are between us and
us.
So, the line to reach
But no, it goes deeper than
that. Because
the relationship with God
is an internal relationship
that allows you
into a horizontal relationship
with others, which lead you into
a divine relationship.
[EMOTIONAL STRINGS]
Of all the things you can make
in life,
why not make a difference?
Take a breath and hold your
breath.
Now, if you want to take another
breath,
you have to release your breath.
In order to be made more,
you have to become less.
The Scripture says
that the first person was
created
when God blew into the red
earth.
And the word for red in Hebrew
is Adam. Why the first person is
named
Adam comes from the red earth.
When God blew into the red or
the
first person was filled with
God's breath,
he was literally
inspired to be filled with
breath.
The first person was filled with
breath.
But how long could he hold his
breath?
The only thing he could do
was release his breath
and Eve said, thank you.
So, the breath of God that was
first
keeps going, passed and passed
and passed. We're all inspired,
my friends.
We're all filled with the first
breath.
That's the only way it can play.
You're all inspired.
[HOPEFUL MUSIC]
If you know
that God loves you, then you
matter.
And if you matter, other people
matter.
To almost any question you have,
Jacob the Baker says, "Caring,
caring is the right answer."
[SEAGULLS CALLING, FLAPPING
WINGS]
[MUSIC SWELLS]
[ANGELIC VOICE SINGS]
[HOPEFUL MUSIC SWELLS]
[PHONE VIBRATES]
I'm sorry.
Take your time.
[SPEAKING ON PHONE]
Yes. Sorry about that.
Do you have the test results?
I'm at work right now, I
can't...
[DOOR SHUTS]
Okay.
Thank you.
[EXHALES]
[WATER RUNNING]
[EXHALES]
[TAKES A BREATH]
[PAPER TOWELS RUSTLE]
[EXHALES]
[TAKES A BREATH]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR SHUTS]
[SLIDES BOWL ON TABLE]
Thank you.
[SIGHS]
[CHEWING]
[GENTLE, EMOTIONAL MUSIC FADES
IN]
I'll take that smile
for a positive response.
It's delicious.
Thank you.
How are you doing?
You feeling okay?
Speaking of that,
how are you feeling, Noah?
Your performance is in an hour.
Are you nervous?
Is this stressful to go on stage
without having your lines
written for you?
You know, a lot of us
think that stress sharpens our
game.
But I think that if you think
stress
is a positive force in your
life,
it's like somebody who sets
their pants
on fire in hopes of staying
warm.
When I'm doing what I'm doing
here,
I don't feel
that I'm talking to an audience.
I'm speaking in some way
with people who are an extension
of myself.
So, I'm in a communication
that requires the integrity,
the honesty that we bring
to fully be in the moment.
Honesty is what we have between
ourselves
and others.
Integrity is when we are at one
with ourself, when we are in a
state
of congruency with who we are.
So, if you know who you are,
if you are at one with yourself,
you can't forget your lines.
Who else would you be?
Every relationship requires
that we bring honesty
to that time together.
Or that time will be lost.
And believe me,
it will be honestly lost.
[MELODIC CELLO]
[MAN NARRATING IN KOREAN]
Dear Jacob the Baker,
I am no longer young,
and I married my wife when we
were both very young.
Then I would come home from work
and we would sit and talk about
our day.
But now, when I come home, we
are in silence.
We are apart even when we are
together.
Now there is no fire, just
silence.
[UTENSILS CLANK]
We are in a long marriage but we
are strangers.
The fault is shared. But I have
a big piece of that fault.
[WASHING DISHES]
One night, for the first time
ever, I cheated on my wife.
"WIFE"
I was stupid. I know that. And I
am so ashamed of myself.
[EMOTIONAL CELLO MELODY]
I have not told my wife about
this. I don't know what to say
to her.
I don't even know what to say to
myself.
And each day I wake up, I feel I
don't even know myself.
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC SWELLS]
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
I am considered a successful
architect.
But I am a failure to me. And to
her.
We share the silence,
but I destroyed the foundation
of my integrity and of my
marriage.
Jacob...
[NOAH'S VOICE FADES IN]
Please, please help me repair
what we fractured, and I have
broken.
[MAN NARRATING IN KOREAN]
Thank you.
[MAN NARRATING IN KOREAN]
Ashamed in Korea.
I always think that Adam and Eve
had the perfect relationship.
He didn't have to hear about all
the men
she could have married,
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
and she didn't have to hear
about how good his mother
cooked.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
Some woman came up to
me after a talk and said...
I like this question...
"Jacob, I want to talk to you.
My husband is not the man he he
once was."
I said, that's...
I knew this wasn't a Viagra
conversation.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
I knew where this was going.
I said, that's very interesting.
But the question isn't,
if he's not the man he once was,
but the question is
whether you're prepared
to accept him for the man
he might yet become.
And your willingness to do
that is premised on your
willingness
to accept yourself for the
person
you might yet become.
When Picasso painted
a picture of this great poet,
she said, "It doesn't look like
me."
He said, "You will."
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
[EMOTIONAL STRINGS]
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
If you're looking for love,
Falling in love is very
different
from landing.
[EXHALES]
Sometimes you have to chop wood
to fuel passion.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
"WIFE"
[WATER RUNNING]
[EMOTIONAL STRINGS SWELL]
Aristotle said
that, "Honesty is the portal to
all wisdom."
We can generally agree
that Aristotle was a pretty
smart guy.
But if honesty is the portal
to all wisdom,
humility is the portal to all
honesty.
Honesty is what we tell others.
Integrity is what we tell
ourselves.
[PHONE VIBRATES]
All private deceit becomes
public deceit.
If you are dishonest to
yourself,
you will be dishonest to others.
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
Love without honesty is
betrayal.
But honesty without love is
cruelty.
[GENTLE, NOSTALGIC MUSIC]
[WIND BLOWS]
Life is short.
If you find love, be loving.
If you honestly want a life you
can love,
love being honest.
"WIFE"
[SPEAKING IN KOREAN]
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC SWELLS]
When I was a kid and I'd come
home
after being out for the evening,
my mother would be waiting for
me.
She'd be sitting there with a
cup of tea
and a green cup
I thought we got somewhere at a
give away
for buying enough
gas or groceries or something.
And she'd be there waiting for
me
to come home
to tell her how the evening
went,
how I was doing.
Was I okay?
She'd been sitting there with
her
hair in rollers in her house
dress that had seen so many
years.
[EMOTIONAL THEME FADES IN]
And in the spirit of my mother,
I want you to know
that I will be sitting
up late in my own life,
listening
for how you're doing,
listening, that you're okay.
Listening, that you're finding a
way
to deal with all the things
you have to deal with in your
life,
because we all find things
we have to deal with in our
life.
And I'll be there.
My mother wouldn't have it any
other way.
And I wouldn't either.
I'll be there
listening for you
and praying for you.
You know, I believe that.
[TAKES A BREATH]
When we meet each other,
when people meet each other,
it is in the presence of God.
[ANGELIC CHOIR SINGS]
Thank you for your time, Noah,
and
good luck tonight.
[AUDIENCE CHATTER]
[INTRIGUING MUSIC]
[NOAH PRAYS QUIETLY]
Blessed art thou
Who has created us
and sustained us
who brought us
to this season of our lives.
Let me be a source of joy for
you.
A reflection of your light
I pray.
Amen.
[EMOTIONAL THEME SWELLS]
[CITY AMBIENCE]
[MUSIC BECOMES QUIET,
SUSPENSEFUL]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[EMOTIONAL PIANO MUSIC]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDS]
Thank you.
Thank you.
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDS]
[TRAFFIC, CARS PASS BY]
[PHONE CHIMES]
[CAR PULLS UP]
[CAR DOOR OPENS]
Hey, how's it going?
How's it going?
It's going all right.
[CAR DOOR SHUTS]
Jacob the Baker?
What is that? Like a Food
Network guy?
More of a food for thought guy,
maybe.
Maybe more of a food for thought
guy.
[NOAH CHUCKLES]
You ready to go?
Brother,
I'm ready to stop.
Me too, man.
Me too.
[CAR DRIVES OFF]
Hard day?
Yeah, don't get me started.
Tell me.
I'm a pretty good listener.
Pretty sharp dresser, too.
No way you're going to relate to
my worries.
You know, clothes can be a
costume in life.
Don't be confused.
I come from a blue-collar
family.
Low on dough,
a lot of love.
Too bad love can't pay the
bills.
Or tuition, for that matter.
You got any kids?
I got kids who got kids.
Tell me about your kids.
Yeah, we got a daughter.
Yeah.
She starts applying to college
this year.
You know, it's funny,
my wife and I, we, uh,
we barely made it through high
school,
but our girl,
she's going all the way.
It's a great moment in life when
you know
your kids are going to soar
higher
than you ever flew.
Yep. She is soaring.
Yeah, well...
meanwhile, we're soaring in
debt.
[DRIVER LAUGHS]
I like that laugh.
Keep that laugh, brother.
All right, I will.
It's good to laugh, right?
It's been a while.
You're working all day and
driving at night.
It's no fun.
Or funny.
I'm sorry, man.
I don't...
I don't hear you whining.
What I'm hearing is the load
that you're carrying.
That's what I'm hearing.
Yeah, well, you got no idea.
No one ever knows
the weight of a pack
on another person's back.
Nobody knows what another man is
carrying.
Yeah, that's true.
Me and my wife, you know, we're
the grin-and-bear-it types, you
know?
Just been too tired lately
you know, to grin anymore.
What do you do when you get
down?
Oh, I get down.
And when I get down,
I count my blessings.
And then I think about my
leather jacket.
[SLURPS]
I get the blessings.
But... what about the jacket?
I knew that would get you
curious.
[DRIVER LAUGHS]
It was something I always
wanted.
It was a really authentic
leather pilot's jacket, and
we couldn't afford it.
And it was in its own way
a reminder, "Hey, Noah,
you're too poor."
But you eventually got it?
Oh, yeah,
I got it.
And you know what else I get?
I tell you, I get that you're a
good man,
a good husband,
a good father,
and your "yes" is coming.
Yeah? How come you're so sure?
You want to know why I'm so
sure?
Yeah. Look at that mirror.
I want you to look at
that, look at yourself in the
mirror.
Don't get us in an accident.
Just look at that mirror a bit.
I want to tell you that some
people
have "no" written across their
forehead
and some people have "yes"
written across their forehead.
Look in that mirror. Well,
look at your "yes".
You got "yes" written
big letters all across your
forehead.
I just see exhaustion.
I'm gonna say it again.
Take a look.
I want you to see that "yes".
Look, you will see that "yes".
You will see it.
I am "yes".
Yes, you are.
I am "yes".
Yeah, you are.
Let me hear it again.
I am "yes"!
Loud and proud!
I am "yes"!
Yes!
[DRIVER LAUGHS]
Yeah, I like that.
And the reminder you gave me to
count my blessings.
I mean, you
you are a blessing right
in my backseat, man.
It's very kind thing
for you to say. But I have one
thought,
one more thing I'd like you to
do for you.
I want you to honk your horn.
I want you to honk your horn
loudly.
Why?
That things are going to be good
for you and your wife and your
daughter.
Honk your horn.
Why not?
[HONKS HORN]
[HONKS HORN]
Look out, world
I'm coming through!
Amen!
[HONKS HORN]
Look out, "yes" man coming
through world!
Amen, Amen, Amen!
[HONKS HORN]
Whoo!
[EMOTIONAL THEME MUSIC FADES IN]
[CAR PULLS UP]
[CAR DOOR OPENS]
[CAR DOOR SHUTS]
Yes!
Yes!
Thanks a lot, man.
[CAR DRIVES OFF]
[HONKS HORN]
[LIGHT, EMOTIONAL THEME
CONTINUES]
[FIRE CRACKLES]
[TAPS ON LEATHER JACKET]
[TYPES ON KEYBOARD]
[COMPUTER CHIMES]
[POIGNANT, EMOTIONAL THEME]
Dear Jacob,
In my work,
I see people dealing with pain.
All kinds of pain, physical
pain, psychic pain,
and the pain of injustice and
hatred.
It is my job to face the pain of
others
and bear a reporter's witness to
it.
But now,
[HEART MONITOR BEEPS]
I am the one in pain.
My father, who has always been
my rock
and my greatest champion, is
dying.
I'm so grateful that my dad
isn't
suffering and is getting
excellent care.
I'm also comforted that he is at
peace
with his passing
and believes
we will be reunited in heaven.
But I don't believe in heaven.
I'm a believer in facts, not
faith.
So the promise of our
shared afterlife has no comfort
for me.
I am in pain in this life.
I'm living in constant fear
that today will be my dad's last
day,
his last breath,
and I live in fear of when he's
gone.
Jacob, I know you aren't real.
Yet, the fact is, your words
have provided
comfort to so many around the
world.
So, maybe you have words to help
me?
Signed,
Heartbroken daughter in Los
Angeles.
[QUIET, GENTLE PIANO]
[FOOTSTEPS]
[FIRE CRACKLES]
[TYPES ON KEYBOARD]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[NOAH NARRATING] There was a
time when my father
was struggling with the end of
his life.
Hello?
that I was abandoning
the honor of my father.
But in this lifetime,
the challenge is to be in the
moment you're in.
Honor the moment you're in with
someone
and honor the moment you're in
with someone else.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
To step out of grief and into
joy
is witnessing that you can be
sublimely blessed
and sublimely sad
simultaneously.
There's room for all of this
in your lifetime
at the same time.
Give the dignity to the moment
you have
and give dignity to the next
moment
you have and to the next moment
you have.
All time is simultaneous.
Time doesn't wear a watch.
Time isn't a day on a calendar.
[TRAFFIC IN DISTANCE]
God is never so with you
as when you feel alone.
The wind in your face
might be God blowing you kisses,
and the tears falling on your
cheeks
can also cause you to bloom.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[KEYS JINGLE]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR SHUTS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[FLOATING, GENTLE MUSIC]
I do know this...
not everyone who is crying
is crying out loud
and many of us are washed in
tears.
[SIGHS]
Memory is a secret garden.
Take a walk in that garden
with someone you loved.
Smell the incense of eternity.
The veil between the worlds is
very porous.
Those who have passed are not
gone.
It's the silence between the
notes
that makes the music.
I know that there is real
grief in life and real loss in
life.
Love the loss.
Don't allow stress to be the
relationship you have
with what you have lost.
[SHUTS SCREEN]
[FIRE CRACKLES]
[GENTLE PIANO]
[NOAH IN VIDEO]
Each of us is in the great
darkness
[NOAH IN VIDEO]
and each of us is on a journey.
In the process of our journey
we will bend to build a fire
for light and warmth and food.
But when our fingers tear at the
ground
hoping to find the coal of
another's fire,
what we often find are the
ashes.
And in these ashes,
which will not give us light or
warmth,
there may be sadness,
but there is also testimony.
Because I swear to you,
it means that someone else
has passed in this night.
Someone else has been on a
journey,
someone else has bent in the
night
and scratched at the ground
to create light and warmth,
and someone else has carried on.
And that can be enough sometimes
and that can be enough
sometimes.
[EMOTIONAL THEME FADES IN]
[WOMAN READING IN ITALIAN]
[BOTH LAUGH]
"ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS"
[HOPEFUL CELLO]
[CITY TRAFFIC]
"NURSING & CLINICAL LEADERSHIP"
[EMOTIONAL MUSIC]
[POIGNANT CELLO]
[WIND BLOWING]
[EMOTIONAL BRASS AND STRINGS]
[HOPEFUL CELLO MELODY]
[ORCHESTRAL THEME]
[MUSIC CRESCENDOS]
["BETTER TIMES" IS PLAYING]
Have you come to tell me
Of storms that lie ahead
Or have you come instead to
wake me
And take me to the moon
So I will know hope never
comes too soon
Have you come to tell me
Of worries I will fear
Or have you come instead to
sing to me
Of things I wait to hear
Oh, how I pray to know that
you are near
Will you come to walk me
To where I need to go
Cuz here and now is now and
here
In this moment we will grow
Open your eyes
Look around
You will know that hope has
come
Open your eyes
Look around
You'll see, better times have
now begun
Have you come to tell me
Memories of what is done
Or will you now remind me
All will pass, but,
Nothing's gone
Will you come to walk me
To where I need to go
Cuz here and now is now and
here
In this moment, in this
moment,
In this moment we will grow
Open, open
Open your eyes
Look around
You will know that hope has
come
Open, open
Open your eyes
Look around
You'll see, better times have
now
begun
Look around
You will know that hope has
come
Look around
The song of life has now
been sung
Better times have now
Begun.