"Intimacy Therapy"
Help us re-understand "sex". Of course, I don't mean just like a person who can't walk and wish to walk like a normal person.
Mark O'Brien has been at the University of California, Berkeley since 1978, and this is what O'Brien took to his class last week on a gurney, when he contracted polio at the age of six, a disease that left him physically crippled, But his will was still strong, because he wanted to be a writer... So Mark O'Brien went to study English. As an adult, he relied on poetry to survive, alone and actively facing various problems, especially the problem of "sex". The film was adapted from his article "Experiential Therapy".
Because of his strength and optimism, as well as his talent, there are indeed girls who like him, but everyone knows that even if they don't consider social culture, people will only like him out of instinct, but it is impossible to be true to him. Talk about love. The core of the film is the process of a professional sex therapist treating Mark, but from Mark's point of view, this is a process of his thinking about love, experiencing love, and comprehending love. As Mark said at the end: They say that if you look at life with a glass of water...you see nothing more than half a glass of emptiness or a half-full glass, it's all up to what you think in your heart. Of course, the two halves were never equal, at least for me, certainly not. Look at all the cruelty I had to endure, almost fills my whole glass, but that little bit left...what am I going to keep for myself? At least in the end...three beautiful ladies who loved me deeply and were all present at my funeral.
The first one Mark fell in love with was Amanda, the kind nurse. He said: "Amanda is a beautiful girl, so beautiful to touch, hug, kiss...she can't let me lie down like dried chewing gum all day, meaningless existence, she took me there once Picnic, with her boyfriend, and another couple, and the air is full of lust. What does her boyfriend think? I'm in his way, I think I'm always in the way of others. Her skin is so creamy... Her Tudor face... Her round, plump legs fascinate me, what do you want me to do? All I wanted was hands that could move so I could touch her, and that was enough. She has a kind, brave heart and I'm happy to be in her care...but I'm not satisfied. As a result, while he went shopping with Amanda for clothes, he wanted to woo her and propose marriage. As a result, they scared the opponent away. Amanda went to Mark before leaving and said: I love you, Mark. I really love you. Yeah, I love you, but not that kind of love. I love you, but not the kind of love between men and women.
Obviously, his distance from normal people is sex. In a phone interview (about disabled sex life), touched him. When he asked the priest for help, the priest also expressed powerlessness: Welcome to the human world, where hearts are broken every day. I said I would help you, I hope I have a more effective solution, I just have a superficial understanding of life and death... This is a must for our pastors, have you thought about talking to a therapist.
He found Cheryl, a sex therapist. In order to increase my understanding of sex therapists, I checked the information, and it seems that there are such professions in both China and the West. We certainly understand the difference between this profession and prostitutes, at least they still shoulder the mission of psychotherapy and have scientific expertise. However, China may not yet be able to accept the way that the therapists are in person. But obviously, Cheryl is the latter. Cheryl started to help Mark by building up his sexual self-confidence, and it took only 4 of the 6 treatments originally scheduled to be completed, which not only allowed Mark to control his body and enter his body, but also allowed both parties to enjoy orgasm. However, Mark soon developed an empathy. Cheryl, in the case note, said: "Mark seemed to indulge in a typical emotional shift, which is not uncommon after the first successful sexual intercourse...but he was especially susceptible and he couldn't see me for himself." Women who do multiple functions and multiple identities, mothers, sisters, teachers, lovers, friends, at the same time, have less anxiety about sexual performance. But Cheryl, who opened a window for Mark, also ran into trouble. Indeed, the optimistic and kind Mark infected her, and she liked him too. Also touched by Mark's love poems (Love poems to someone: Let my words touch your heart, Quan Zuo, the replacement of my limp hands, let my words frivolous in your hair, across your Back, scratching your belly; Quan Zuo, instead of my stiff and powerless hands, don't care about my Xiyi, don't care about my stubbornness, in order to carry my quiet desire, let my words enter your mind, Hold the torches, let them be one with you, let them touch your heart, your heart). But this love is not the other, not to mention that she has a philosophy professor husband, and her son is in middle school. So, she calmly said to Mark: Mark, what do you want me to say? I was moved to death by that poem, how much it meant to me, it won't help you, it's just self-defeating. And with a professional attitude, the treatment was stopped.
Fortunately, Mark met volunteer Susan in the last five years of his life. I met Susan, she was the love of my life, we had a lot of things to like, and baseball was the first. After that, we also wrote nasty love poems to each other, I didn't expect that, of course she didn't either... But that's how it happened. Mark nearly died at home when the power went out in the middle of the night. After being taken to the hospital, he met volunteer Susan. The two chatted happily. When they parted after the first meeting, Mark confidently told Susan: Hey, wait a minute, I have one more thing to tell you, I'm not a virgin anymore. Not only were they in love, but apparently had normal sex, Mark said: "I was surprised, she adored me, she would do anything for me, and sometimes I got a bit of a twist (seems to have a bit of a taste).
What is life? As that awkward character, Father Brandon, said: Love is a journey. The priest could not use his familiar view of life and death to answer Mark's dilemma. Even when it comes to seeking sexual therapy (which, by definition, is still "extramarital sex," which is against the commandments), it's thought that God will be extra-judicial: I think, God will allow you to do it. Life itself can have many definitions, but at least it has to be "loved". According to Mark himself, he learned what love was, emotionally and physically, and just like that, Mark lived his own life, day after day... Between every breath, for 49 years, he loved have been loved.
For the rising China, for the future of mankind. I think it's important to understand the "goodness and beauty" that is conveyed in the film. It is remarkable that a country and a society can give such a life to a disabled person. I think this is civilization!
View more about The Sessions reviews
