The Mystery of Marriage: Nature is weirder than your dating life

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school educational reels that feel like they belong in a dusty school library, sure. Go for it. But if you are looking for a normal movie night, stay far away. It is for people who enjoy oddball cinema and don’t mind feeling a little confused by the end. If you hate being lectured by a narrator while watching beetles crawl over each other, you will probably want to turn this off in the first five minutes.

I didn’t know what I was getting into. I thought it would be a standard nature film, like Lions' Jaws and Kittens' Paws. Instead, I got a film that takes itself way too seriously while talking about insect romance. It’s funny, but I don’t think it was supposed to be.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Mystery of Marriage (1931) through its definitive frames.

There is a segment where they show a plant doing something—I am not even sure what—and then immediately cut to a human couple standing on a sidewalk. The jump in logic is staggering. It’s like the movie is trying to trick you into thinking nature is a grand manual for dating. 🧐

The pacing is all over the place. One minute you are staring at a close-up of a flower, and the next you are being told that your own life choices are just like the instincts of a moth. It’s a bold take, I’ll give them that.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Mystery of Marriage (1931) through its definitive frames.

I found myself zoning out during the long shots of vegetation, only to snap back to attention when the narrator started making these weird, sweeping generalizations about men and women. You can almost feel the movie trying to force a connection that just isn’t there. It’s messy.

• The narrator’s voice is so dry it could dehydrate you.
• Some of the bug footage is actually kind of impressive for the era.
• The transition between 'nature' and 'society' is basically non-existent.
• It makes me feel like I’m sitting through a very long, very strange lecture.

It’s not as charming as something like Clara Cleans Her Teeth, which at least has a clear point. This one just rambles. It’s like someone decided to write a thesis on marriage but forgot to look up any actual sociology. 🤷‍♂️

At one point, a spider does something—maybe it was eating? Or dancing?—and the narration just leans into it like it’s a romantic comedy. I literally laughed out loud. It’s the kind of movie that is perfect for a rainy afternoon when you’ve already watched everything else on your list.

It’s flawed. It’s weird. I kind of loved how much it didn’t make sense.