Talking about matters like bullying and malaria is very important, but the execution is poor. "Is your husband cute?" "He must be, or you wouldn't have married him." What kind of dialogue is that? First, beauty is subjective, and people marry each other for a combination of factors. Anyway, this conversation did not sit well in the movie.
How about the fact that the mother takes her child to another country and when he says Mandela's t-shirt is weird she doesn't correct him? I mean, you are free to have your likes and dislikes, but ever wondered why such a kid has that opinion? Culture. She should have explained to him that what is strange for him is normal and cool for other people. She could have told him beauty and wonders come in so many shapes, colors and sizes.
"Oh they will like to see you because you are prettier than me." In a movie with such a serious theme characters seem to be too shallow. Women should not compete. Again the simplistic idea that beauty is objective.
And again, characters seem so worried about looks and things that are secondary. The movie tries poorly to talk about important matters with an immature and shallow rhetoric. Can we stop caring about how people look for one second? And as others said, we don't know characters enough to like them and Mary is very selfish for not caring what her husband or son wants. And why was she offended by others crying? I don't get it. Maybe they should laugh? At a funeral??? And yes, the story would be a lot better if told from the point of view of a native. The cast is good. The movie not so much. It doesn't touch us. I watched the movie in another language, so exact words might not be accurate but the idea is the same.
Review of Mary and Martha
