What is art? What is life? Are they the same? What happens when they intersect each other in a very intimate way? These are all questions that I though of after I viewed Director Jeff Malmberg's impressive documentary, "Marwencol" at the Lone Star International Film Festival last November. I'm still thinking about the film, and now that is finally available to the public I wanted to spread the word about how this is the best Documentary of the past year. Here is a summary of the film from the official site:
"Marwencol" is a documentary about the fantasy world of Mark Hogancamp.
After being beaten into a brain-damaging coma by five men outside a bar, Mark builds a 1/6th scale World War II-era town in his backyard. Mark populates the town he dubs "Marwencol" with dolls representing his friends and family and creates life-like photographs detailing the town's many relationships and dramas. Playing in the town and photographing the action helps Mark to recover his hand-eye coordination and deal with the psychic wounds of the attack. When Mark and his photographs are discovered, a prestigious New York gallery sets up an art show. Suddenly Mark's homemade therapy is deemed "art", forcing him to choose between the safety of his fantasy life in Marwencol and the real world that he's avoided since the attack.
"Marwencol" has won over 20 awards, including two Independent Spirit Awards, Best Documentary of the Year from the Boston Society of Film Critics and Rotten Tomatoes, and the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The Los Angeles Times calls the film “an exhilarating, utterly unique experience” while the Village Voice says that it's “exactly the sort of mysterious and almost holy experience you hope to get from documentaries and rarely do.”This film is extraordinary. One of the few films that I have seen recently that I have not been able to stop thinking about. It is a truly amazing story, and one everyone should check out on home video as soon as you can. The twist at the end is almost as fascinating to ponder as the main subject of the documentary. I won't spoil it by telling you what it is, but it should come as somewhat of a surprise. Although watching it again, you can see some signs of things to come sprinkled in. PLEASE PLEASE go get this movie. You will not be disappointed.
"Marwencol" is now available on
DVD and
Blu-Ray.
