After several days of receiving no mail aside from junk and bills (boo), I arrived to the post office Saturday to see this! A massive collection of incoming goodies, that I shall now attempt to break down for you. Top left is a post card from Adam and a letter from Linsey, two items from two different people in Australia, Kathleen and Courtney, a small gift (which I will blog about later) and letter from Nora, a letter from Adam, and a gift of post cards and buttons from Louise in England. Lots of international mail, with lots of nice goodies and stories inside.
My outgoing mail today is... nothing. I had an extremely busy week at work, and did all I could to write the 3 letters I finished this week. They will not be going out tomorrow, though, so they are not pictured. I will get them out as soon as possible though.
But, today's summary brings you a movie review. What? A letter writing blog with a movie review? Really? Yes, really. And believe it or not, it's a movie about pen-pals! First, the trailer. Give it a look see, will ya?
Mary and Max is the touching story of a little girl in Australia that longs for a real friend. She finds one in the oddly paired Max, who lives in New York. The movie chronicles their lives as they grow, through letters and the random assorted chocolate goodies they exchange. It's based on a pair of true pen friends - Adam Elliot, the director of the film, and someone he names as "a pen friend I've been writing for over twenty years".
I found this movie to be quite enjoyable the first time I saw it a couple of years ago. I was writing a letter to LR, someone that found me through SendSomething, and remembered it. After watching it again, but this time as an avid letter writer myself, I found it to be even more touching. I got so wrapped up in the story of Mary and Max that I forgot that it was so late at night. When the movie ended at close to 2am, I was sad that I had to step away from their world and go to sleep. Don't let the fact that it's claymation fool you - it's very much a story for the older kids among us. It deals with depression, anxiety, death of family members, and much much more.
The film also embodies exactly why I have grown to love my pen friends. I get to explore other continents and learn about lives that are very different from my own. And I hope that these friendships continue for many many years to come, just like the friendship between Mary and Max.
On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being best, I'd give it a solid 8. If you are at all interested after watching the trailer, please find a copy and watch it. For those technologically minded among you, it's available on Netflix Streaming. If you do watch it, let me know what you think?
Happy writing, friends!
-Lucas
-Lucas