A sincere, touching and very beautiful movie that deals with heavy subjects

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2014)

Mary and max is a clay animated movie intended for adults. For some this will be hard to understand because generally animated features are considered to be made for children. This is something I never quite understood well since this simply is not true. While a majority might be aimed for a younger audience there are quite a few that are meant for youth and adults or adults alone. This is important to realize since Mary and Max is an example of an animated movie that while offering laughs is dealing with very adult themes that can be very confronting. Let me first tell you that Mary and Max is a very funny film through and through. While very unrelentingly confronting you with death and depression it never skips on wit to make you laugh. The narration is brilliant as it helps to distance yourself or get involved when needed. I read somewhere that Barry Humphries' (most famous for his character Dame Edna) was found to be overly used and intrusive. Personally I think it has been key to keep things light instead of depressing. The wit and narration combo in my opinion is a genius way of telling a story filled with heavy subjects that otherwise would be hard to deal with. But next to the darker themes there is one beautiful one that most of the people will be able to appreciate and relate to. Friendship. If you have to remember one thing about a film like this then let it be the fact that here they show the beauty and value of friendship in life no matter how it is conceived and exists. Here the friendship consists of communication through letters. But is just as strong or maybe even stronger than a so called normal one. Here you get to see how much a simple and sincere letter can impact someone's life that proves to be beneficial for both. This film also shows that sometimes people react in unusual ways not because they are mean or evil but simply they view the world differently due to reasons they have no control of and don't know how to respond. I know it's hard and not always possible to have an open mind or be understanding but please do try since it does prove to be worth wile in the long run.
Max and Mary is a sincere, touching and very beautiful film dealing with heavy subjects in a way I have rarely seen before. It moved me deeply and it is one that deserves all the praise that it is getting. A must watch!