Mary and Martha (2013)

Mary and Martha Poster

Wealthy American housewife Mary Morgan takes her bullied son George out of school for home education,including a trip to Southern Africa. Whilst in Mozambique George is bitten by a mosquito which crawls through a hole in his net and dies of malaria. After his funeral at home Mary feels a compulsion to return to Africa where she meets English woman Martha O'Connell,whose 24 year old son Ben, a teacher with voluntary service overseas,has also died of malaria. Ben gave his net to one of his pupils,believing adults cannot catch malaria. The two women are shocked to see the high death rate caused by the disease and,whilst Martha stays in Africa as a voluntary helper,Mary petitions the American government to change things. Martha turns up at Mary's house unannounced and,helped by Mary's ex-diplomat father,they address a senate committee on health spending,persuading them to do more to combat malaria. They meet with some success though a coda states that much more can be done.

Film Overview
"Mary and Martha" is a 2013 television film directed by Phillip Noyce and written by Richard Curtis. The drama movie, commissioned by BBC, features distinguished actresses Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn as the leads. It informs a gripping and poignant story of the unanticipated bond formed in between two mothers, Mary and Martha, who meet by possibility and unify over a typical cause after ravaging encounters with malaria.

Plot
The film sequentially depicts the lives of Mary (Hilary Swank), an American interior designer, and Martha (Brenda Blethyn), a British housewife. Both are mothers, who separately choose to start journeys to Africa with their sons for different factors. Mary takes her boy George out of school for a daring holiday in South Africa to reinforce their relationship, while Martha's boy Ben goes to Mozambique as a volunteer to teach English. Their worlds fall apart when George and Ben fall ill and pass away because of malaria. The unforeseen loss makes their moms, living in two various corners of the world, realize the fatal degree of malaria.

The Encounter & Shared Mission
The traumatised mothers satisfy in Africa throughout a ceremony to celebrate George's life and discover solidarity in each other's loss. Reinvigorated by each other's strength, they sign up with forces to turn their individual disaster into a larger cause. They make it their objective to raise awareness about malaria and understand the power they possess as mothers to make a tangible modification.

Raising Awareness
Upon their return home, Mary and Martha deal with resistance from their households, good friends and the federal government. Mary raises the subject of malaria obliteration during a senate hearing in Washington, but her plea falls on deaf ears. Martha, on the other hand, witnesses the cumulative apathy and indifference of her friends during a fundraising occasion she arranges at her home. However, the resilient females decline to back down and continue with their mission to prevent other mothers from experiencing the pain they sustained.

Conclusion
"Mary and Martha" ends on a confident note. As a way of reaching a broader audience with their message, both the moms return to Africa, to the place where tragedy struck them. They inform kids about malaria in the local orphanage, a location that provides a haven for children like George and Ben. The film concludes with the teary-eyed mothers releasing lanterns into the sky, symbolizing their continuous battle versus malaria.

Summary
"Mary and Martha" is a heart-wrenching movie about the bond in between two mourning mothers who channel their shared grief into a global fight versus malaria. The film poignantly checks out themes of motherhood, grief, strength and advocacy. In spite of confronting apathy, resistance and dismissive attitudes toward their cause, Mary and Martha turn their individual tragedy into an international project, targeted at raising awareness and saving lives from malaria.

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