TWO WOMEN VS A MASS KILLER : "MARY AND MARTHA"

It’s funny, do you ever get the feeling some films actively WANT you to watch them? I’m not talking about advertising or some such, I mean some films (or it could be books or anything else I suppose) that just keep popping out at you at odd places? Take this one. I barely noticed and acknowledged its existence at first. It elbowed its way into my line of vision. I commended its activism but thought I would find it too sad and possibly a tiny bit saccharine to my taste, so I passed. Much like the characters in the film however, the film WOULD NOT go away. It was not being “pushed” per se, but in every random collection of films my eye spied, there it would be. I mean, in the end I just gave up, pure and simple. And I “bought” what it was saying, as it were.  I know, there are many, many terrible things in the world. Malaria is only one of them. And while we cannot hope to solve “everything”, why not try and do something about malaria, which is preventable. In our lifetime. And thus save millions of lives. I mean, you have to admit, it’s a pretty cool idea…

Mary and Martha is the story of two mothers. But the story doesn’t start with them. It starts with George and Ben. Their sons. On the surface of it, the two could not be further apart. Ben, Martha’s son, from the UK, is 24 years old and is working as a volunteer teacher in an orphanage in Mozambique. George, the son of Mary, is only 12, he is on an extended “road trip” with his mother, Mary, who has taken him out of school to home school him and show him the real world. Mary and Martha’s worlds collide through tragedy: both their sons fall victim to malaria, and die. Coincidence brings them together, and their unspeakable shared suffering makes them friends. Their coping mechanisms are different – but parallel: both feel the need to “do” something. They are unable to go back to their old lives and their old homes. Martha chooses to stay on at the orphanage to “replace” Ben for a while looking after the children. Mary heads back home. But she is a woman on a mission. She is going to do whatever it takes to eradicate this disease that took her son. And she plans to start with a letter to the White House.

It would be wonderful if Mary and Martha were a true story.  I don’t of course mean that it would be great for two young men to die. My point is that many, many more than two already are dying. It would be great if we really could eradicate this disease completely. What the film basically does is show us exactly what malaria does. It brings pain and suffering. And not just to its victims. To millions more people, the families of the victims. Through Mary and Martha, we take a good, hard look at one of the greatest pains in this world, the pain of losing a child. We can then imagine this pain multiplied to an entire continent, millions of people. Then, maybe, we can understand what is truly at stake here and start doing something to stop it.

And if you are a bit concerned, like me at the beginning, that this will turn out to be little more than a very thinly veiled anti-malaria campaign, well, you’re wrong. I mean yes, the film makes no pretences about what it is trying to say, but the presentation is good. Hilary Swank is on top form as Mary, and double Oscar® nominee Brenda Blethin is an absolutely adorable Martha. It’s a good film. And if it makes you feel bad, you know what, possibly, all the better. Who knows, you might be the person to actually end up killing this disease off… Now wouldn’t that be something…

THE COVE

Ok , so while we’re on the subject let’s stick to Oscar® winners. Obscure Oscar® winners – say Best Documentary 2010 ? Oh hang on, you heard of it? Yeah, I mean The Cove. If you heard of it, this would not surprise me actually – pick a festival that gives awards to documentaries, The Cove has either been nominated or won something… Now, this has been and always will be a blog dedicated purely to films (or occasionally books) and cinema (or literature as the case may be) and reviews thereof. But I strongly – VERY strongly – suggest you watch The Cove purely for “educational” purposes. This is ecology, the only planet we have to live on – and it’s important.

Now, do you guys remember Flipper ? (Flipper, faster than liiiightning). She (well, technically “they” – there were five Flippers in total) was the pioneer of a new form of entertainment – Dolphin Parks. You know the sort, dolphins jumping through hoops, clapping, amusing us with their seemingly human smiles. Hell, they even look happy – surely there’s no problem there, right ? Well, ok, let’s ask an expert just to be sure. Ric O’Barry for instance. He would know. He was after all the original Flipper’s (all of them) trainer and their “keeper”. And his life is still dedicated to dolphins. The freedom of dolphins. He is trying to painstakingly undo the harm he himself instigated. You see, “The Cove” is an actual cove in Japan. It is quite infamous in the underworld – it is where poachers “herd” wild dolphins. Trainers from parks all over the world gather there to select the dolphins for their respective parks. And the rest ? Oh I think you have a pretty good idea what happens to the rest...

Disclaimer : The Cove is not for the faint of heart. But personally I think you should watch it even if you feel like crying and /or throwing up. As I watched The Cove I was, naturally, overwhelmed with sympathy for the dolphins. But spare a thought for our guide and narrator : Mr O’Barry He is obviously and understandably distraught by the misery he indirectly caused. His case is, in fact, a very good example of the human condition in a way. We live our lives, some of us with very little or no concern for our environment. We do not consider the effects of our actions on plants or animals. If we knew better, maybe we too would raise the black flag and wage war on “the system”. In short this film will bother you but undoubtedly push you to seriously think about our planet. And this cannot be a bad thing…