Ky Watcher Author / Giggle
Editors / ky Creators
The movie I want to introduce to you today, "Mary and Marx", is a black-and-white brown frame-by-frame clay animation film. The film tells the story of an Australian girl, Mary, and her American pen pal Marx.
Some people seem to have been joking by the Creator
Born out of place with the outside world
Mary is an 8-year-old girl living in Melbourne, Australia, with a pair of mud-colored eyes and a birthmark on her forehead, she has always been deeply inferior to her own ordinariness.
Mary's father, Noel, worked in a factory and hobbyed to make specimens of dead birds in the garage in his spare time. Mary always wanted her father to spend more time with her, but Noel seemed to prefer to stay with her "dead friends" than her daughter.
Mary's mother, Vera, was an alcoholic whose hobby was to drink while listening to cricket games. Vera seemed to be in a state of drunkenness every day, and she was a puzzling presence for Mary. Mary didn't understand why Mom was always drinking or why Mom was always "borrowing" things from the mall to come home.
Mom also said that Mary's birth was an "accident." However, Mary did not understand how a person could be an "accident".
Not only did Mary not have the care and attention of her family, but her timid and introverted personality left her without any friends. Mary's only "friends" are her own Toys for The Noblitts, which is her favorite cartoon because the characters have many good friends.
Living in New York, USA, 44-year-old Marx is a middle-aged man living alone. He has no friends, no partner, and no family. Suffering from obesity, self-isolation and anxiety, Marx almost never interacted with the outside world.
For Marx, the world was chaotic and complex, and there were so many things that puzzled him that most people confused him. He can't understand other people's non-verbal communication, can't understand facial expressions, can't understand some of the "social rules" that everyone knows, and can't understand why he is considered "abnormal".
Marx's life was in dire need of regularity, and anything outside of the plan or the everyday made him uneasy and anxious. For example, he always had a goldfish named Henry, and every time Henry died he had to buy a new one as soon as possible, from Henry I to Henry IX, this number will continue, otherwise his life will lose its regularity and lose its balance. In addition, Marx insisted on buying the same set of lottery numbers for nine years.
Marx was also a big fan of The Norblitts because their society was orderly and they all had many friends. There was endless chocolate, there was a full collection of The Norblits, and there was a friend who was the three goals of Marx's life.
Even the most out-of-place people,
It is also possible to meet another lonely soul
Once, when Mary was going to the post office with her mother, she accidentally turned to an American address book. She copied down the contact details of one of the men, and that person was none other than Marx.
Nervous and expectant, Mary sent a letter to the man. In the letter, Mary introduced herself in detail, and she attached a self-portrait and chocolates to the letter.
Mary's letter is undoubtedly anything outside the "law" for Marx. As with every novelty and pressure, the deep anxiety and uneasiness made Marx restless and sleepless all night.
But, perhaps unable to resist the deep desire for friendship in his heart, Marx, after carefully reading Mary's letters four times from beginning to end and looking out the window for 18 hours, finally made up his mind that he was going to write back to Mary.
Marx's reply was long. At 44 years old, he is like a child the same age as Mary, talking about his psychiatrist to his pet at home, about being abandoned as a child, and talking about all the work he has done in his life. Marx seemed to want to tell Mary everything about him, and he had never had the opportunity to share himself with anyone else.
Despite some twists and turns, Mary eventually received a letter from Marx. She hid under the covers and read the long letter, and Mary, who had never been so happy, couldn't wait to write a reply.
Mary and Marx moved quickly closer to each other because they had a similar loneliness. They're all full of unanswered questions about the world, and they both love chocolate and The Noblitts. Most importantly, none of them had any friends, and both longed for friendship.
Marx enjoyed answering Mary's strange questions, and Mary was happy to listen to Marx's life story, which she considered legendary. Perhaps for people like this who have been in loneliness for too long, even a distant sustenance, a similar echo, can make them stick to their own lives.
In this way, as all kinds of strange chocolates and letters traveled between the two continents, Mary grew up day by day, and Marx grew older day by day. Their lives are also changing because of each other.
Even if it is another me in the world,
Building relationships remains a long and difficult road
Many people have had such a fantasy, looking forward to meeting a person in the world, this person will understand themselves very well, and the two people will hit it off and naturally develop deep feelings. But the truth of "Mary and Marx" is that it illustrates this fact:
Even if it is "the other me in the world", even if two people cherish each other's hearts and are willing to pay for each other, in order to achieve deep trust and links, they still have to face many difficult problems, and there will still be a long and difficult road to go because the other person feels pain.
The friendship between Mary and Marx lasted for almost 20 years. On two occasions, they even broke off contact for a time.
The first disconnection occurred when Mary was a little girl. At that ignorant age, Mary's peers began to talk about "sex" and "love." She hoped that Marx would answer her questions about "love." The fairy-tale Mary throws out a series of questions – do you have a partner? What does sex look like? What is love? How can I be loved?
But what Mary did not think, and would not have thought, was that these "love" problems she threw out stimulated Marx's unprecedented anxiety and fear. Bad memories of the past hung over Marx. He remembered that he had tried to show affection to a girl, but because he did not understand the "rules of socialization", he gave a gift that seemed strange to others, and the ending was of course rejection and disgust.
Marx racked his brains about what love was and tried to answer Mary's question about love, but no matter how he thought about it, to no avail. Because, "love" is something he has been missing for 44 years. Eventually, he was crushed by the overwhelming pressure and anxiety and was admitted to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Mary waited for an echo in her thoughts. The loss of her echo plunged her into self-doubt again, and disgust for herself buried the tiny, fragile confidence Mary had just built. Filled with anger and confusion, Mary burned all her and Marx's letters. Mary burst into tears and decided to forget her friend forever.
Eight months later, Marx was finally discharged from the hospital. He returned to a balanced and regular life. During their disappearance, Marx insisted on the lottery numbers for nine years and finally won the lottery. As a result, he received a huge fortune that fell from the sky. Marx used this huge sum of money to achieve two of his three goals in life—he bought enough chocolate to eat for a lifetime, and a complete collection of The Norblits.
Marx, however, did not become happy because of this. Having already experienced friendship, he could not erase the traces left by Mary in his heart. People are really weird. We thought we could tolerate loneliness, but once we felt companionship, the loneliness that had long been a habit suddenly became unbearable torture. He struggled internally—on the one hand, he wanted to write back to Mary at once; on the other hand, he was afraid that the emotional investment would one day make him "mentally ill" again.
In this letter, Marx explained in detail to Mary the reason why he had not replied for a long time. He told Mary that he often fought anxiety while reading letters, telling her that he had been diagnosed with Asperger's disease. (The diagnosis name has now been cancelled and renamed as a high-functioning subtype of autism spectrum disorder)
At the same time, Marx also seriously emphasized that he did not think that having Asperger was a defect. Even when labeled "abnormal" by the world and everyone around him, Marx hoped that at least his only friend, Mary, could be considered a normal person. In this way, they returned to contact.
The second break in contact occurred on the occasion of Mary University's graduation. Mary, who studied mental illness in college, attracted much attention for her outstanding grades. In addition, she set the title of her graduation thesis as a study of Asperger's disease based on Marx's case study. Mary's thesis was greatly praised by her supervisor, causing a sensation for a while, and even received an invitation from the publishing house to publish a book.
Mary already had everything she had longed for in her childhood, cheerful and intelligent, with not only friends but also lovers. She even wiped the birthmark from her forehead. Mary couldn't wait to share the "good news" about the paper with Marx. She was happy that she could help Marx and excited that she could finally visit him in New York.
However, Marx's mood when he saw the letter was diametrically opposed to what Mary had expected. He had always thought of Asperger as just a part of himself, and he hated seeing himself as a "patient" who needed research and treatment. Engulfed by the anger of his best friend's betrayal, Marx could not accept that Mary, like everyone else, saw herself as an abnormal being that needed to be corrected. The furious Marx then wrote a letter to break up with Mary.
Mary, who received Marx's reply, was out with her luggage, ready to embark on a journey to meet him. Mary, who had been excited about it a second before, fell into a huge sadness after reading the letter. She finally reacted by hurting her best friend.
Mary, who had lost Marx, was devastated. Mary found that after Marx left, the "new self" she had worked so hard to build over the years collapsed. She gave up her fame and achievements and spent her days immersed in guilt. She shut herself off at home and didn't communicate with anyone. She was back to where she was years ago.
Even, mary, like her mother, began to numb herself with alcohol. Growing increasingly dazed in the midst of alcoholism and sorrow, she took the last jar of sweet condensed milk from the cupboard, wrote "I'm sorry" on the bottle tremblingly, and sent it to Marx.
After that, Mary dragged her heavy footsteps to the mailbox every day, imagining whether Marx would change his mind. Day after day, he returned home with a strong sense of disappointment.
At the same time, on the other side of the distant earth, Marx, who lost Mary, did not have an easy time. Unable to forgive Mary's betrayal, he couldn't help but place the condensed milk jar mary had sent in a place that was visible. His life seemed to be no different from before, but he unconsciously became grumpy.
Once, when Marx saw a tramp throwing cigarette butts in the street, he felt that he could not bear this disorderly behavior, rushed up, grabbed the man's neck and dragged him off the ground. The tramp was so frightened that he choked out a word before he was about to suffocate: I'm sorry. This apology reminded Marx of Mary's apology. Looking at the homeless man's terrified eyes, Marx slowly let go of him as if he suddenly realized something.
Max wrote Mary a long letter with his full set of Noblit dolls attached. After sending the package, he sat on a park bench and began to count the stars, and his heart seemed to return to a long-lost calm. He may not realize that after so many years of mutual companionship and comfort, he needs Mary's presence to maintain the balance of his life.
No one is perfect, the best relationship is
Imperfect I love imperfect you
Marx told Mary in his letter: I forgive you because you are not perfect, and neither am I, and no one is perfect. Our life path may start out different from others, more difficult than others, but some shortcomings are part of us, we have no choice but to accept. But thankfully, we can at least choose our own friends, and I'm glad we chose you as my friend.
By the time of the second conflict, Mary had a life that no longer seemed flawed. Marx was no longer her only choice. It seems that Marx, such a distant person, is not worth giving up everything in front of her, but people are so irrational, the time they have experienced together has made each other irreplaceable, and the people who have walked side by side in the dark seem to never be forgotten.
But maybe because no one is perfect, it is easy to love and appreciate each other from afar, but it is difficult to establish a real and stable relationship with each other. No good relationship can be achieved overnight, even if the other person is a very compatible with us and cherishes each other.
The relationship between Mary and Marx seemed ideal, and they both had moments when they could not understand each other. Their relationship, like most emotions, has gone through suspicion, insecurity, hurt, choice, betrayal and forgiveness. I think that without going through this, we and anyone cannot reach a deep link.
So, what about the end of the story?
A year after their reconciliation, Mary came to New York. After 20 years, she finally saw the tramp in front of Marx's apartment, the typewriter that Marx used to talk to her, and her best friend. But alas, they did not have the opportunity to share the same can of condensed milk as they imagined. It was that morning that Marx, in anticipation of Mary's arrival, left the world quietly and peacefully.
A tearful Mary looked around: the bottle of Mary's tears was still on Marx's table, and the only picture frame on the wall contained a self-portrait of Mary from the first letter. Following the gaze of Max, who was lying on his back on the couch, Mary saw that all their correspondence for the past 20 years had been plastered all over the ceiling.
They have been with each other for twenty years, and finally finished the road to each other in reality, but it was too late. A lot of times, we don't really go to the people who are most important to us because of our self-limitations. I hope that after reading this post, you can overcome the small shame in your heart and firmly grasp the person you care about.
Life is so lonely, I only want to be dependent on each other.
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