This fascinating documentary follows Mark Hogancamp and his intricate creation of a WWII-era town with dolls, homemade sets, and elaborate setups. He was beaten up and lost his long-term memory, and he uses his town as a sort of art therapy. The people in the town and its goings-on are based on himself and the people he knows, and the stories come from his experiences, desires, and feelings. He photographs the story lines as they progress with amazing dedication.
The town is part of the story, but what is really incredible is watching someone who has made a complete break from himself. He has little memory of his life before the beating; he looks back on his previous life in journals, pictures, and videos with the detachment of a stranger. The parts he doesn’t like, he throws away (being an angry alcoholic), and he keeps what he wants (the artistic energy).
Marwencol plays again Mon May 31, Harvard Exit, 6:15 pm.
How can anyone not like eggplant?
It’s the most delicious vegetable in the world!
Unfortunately, almost no restaurant around Seattle knows how to cook it…it has to be dried overnight with salt to get the water out and then baked and then fried or cooked.
That makes it soft and melt in your mouth. What you get here in Seattle is green hard chewy eggplant that cannot be eaten.
Also eggplant contains nicotine in the skin. Don’t know if that’s a plus for all…but it would seem to have an appeal to a segment of this blog’s readers.
Marwencol is indeed a fantastic film. Saw it at SXSW (where it won) and still think about it regularly. One of those docs that’s not structurally great or gorgeously filmed, but man did the director win the trust of this fascinating artist.
You can see (for free on thisamericanlife.org) a segment dedicated to this man. This was obvs. back when TAL had a TV version on HBO or SHO.
It’s truly heartbreaking and amazing.. but mostly heartbreaking.