REVIEW: The Civilization Of Maxwell Bright (2005)

The Civilization of Maxwell Bright, a 2005 romance film starring Patrick Warburton and Marie Matiko is a brilliant film that celebrates the woman who is complete within herself.

Patrick Wilburn stars as Maxwell Bright who on the surface seems to be a male chauvinist. He has had no luck in the romantic department so he decides to look overseas to find a mail order bride. Marie Matinko portrays the lovely Mai Linn who is sent to wed Maxwell.

The untrained eye might find this film offensive due to its opening scenes with glaring full frontal nudity and coarse language but the most insightful audience members will catch a glimpse of a rare life transformation as Mai Linn dutifully cares for a man who is hurting so much that he can only lash out in anger, yet has a gentle side that allows us to see him as he truly is, vulnerable, caring and in search of peace.

We can all learn from Mai Linn- the dutiful wife because she personifies poise as she stands beside Maxwell during the most troubling time in his life, guiding him toward inner peace through her interactions with him instead of harsh words.

There were several scenes in the movie where Maxwell's actions would bring any woman to tears yet Mai Linn was never shaken by any of Maxwell's antics, instead centering herself on her duty as a wife and healer. She could have taken his harsh jokes offensively but I could tell that she sees no enemies in life so she was able to laugh at and become a partner in his crude humor. She could have been deeply offended by his lack of respect for her spiritual beliefs but instead she knew that she owned her own beliefs and did not demand that he respect them at all. His pejorative language was simply shielding his own pain and lack of faith in love and she saw through that, never nagging him and insisting that he change, but simply seeking to understand him and offer her own positive energy to their marital exchange. Her energy overpowered his in the end and led to his blissful reunion with himself.

We can learn a lot from watching this movie as Maxwell undergoes his spiritual and physical transformation, the most important being that our duty as a wife is to partner with our husband in a dual quest for enlightenment - complete peace with 'what is'.

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