Marwencol

Director: Jeff Malmberg
Stars: Mark Hogancamp

Suffering from brain damage and permanent memory loss Mark Hogancamp was the victim of a vicious assault that left him in a coma for nine days.  Upon awakening Mark underwent therapy to regain all the skills people take for granted daily.  When it came to light that he was unable to pay for this therapy Mark was discharged from the hospital while still suffering from the after effects of his injuries.  With nothing but a simple job performing various tasks in a local restaurant Mark went about creating his own version of therapy to try and help him regain the life that was taken from him. 

Mark’s therapy all takes place in Marwencol, a 1/6^th scale World War II era town he created and built.  Inhabited by dolls which all represent people he knows including himself, Mark creates various stories some which relate to his incident.  Often taking pictures to capture the stories Mark’s work is seen by a magazine publisher who wants to display the photographs in an art show being held in Greenwich Village, New York.  Conflicted Mark now has to determine whether or not he wants to share these pictures with the outside world which he doesn’t have many interactions with nor feel safe in.

An interesting documentary this film takes you into the world of a man who has created a unique way of dealing with a trauma that dealt a crippling blow to his life.  Given an earlier look into Mark’s life before the incident it becomes clear that he was a drunk who showed signs that he was headed for trouble which he found one night while drunk and talking about some atypical hobbies he had.  Of course this doesn’t justify what happened and the film doesn’t hide or alter the facts of how it happened.

Mixed in with the turmoil which had been Mark’s previous life the film does a nice job of showing the intensity Mark possesses in trying to get his life back while filtering out the mental trauma he deals with daily.  Add to that the artistic traits and skills Mark shows in the incredibly surreal pictures taken during his regular therapy sessions in Marwencol and this makes for an engaging film worth checking out.

Rating: 2 1/2 Reels