directed by Jeff Malmberg
As I promised you yesterday, today I’d like to recommend a documentary about real Mark Hogancamp. Short reminder in case you’ve had a difficult Monday – he’s the man who lost his memory after being beaten, and created a town for dolls, which resembles a Belgian town from the times of World War II. Except that, he also started collecting dolls, which somehow resemble his friends and people he knows in real. In this documentary you can hear the whole story told by Mark and people from his surrounding. They don’t focus much on the tragedy itself, but rather on what a blessing those toys were for Mark. I’m aware of the fact that some, without knowing the whole story, would say that he’s a bit crazy. An adult man playing with dolls? Quite unusual. But in fact, this is his way of exercising the brain. While playing with dolls, you have to think hard what they might be saying, what would happen next… it’s like creating a TV series screenplay in your head. Besides, he also makes all the beautiful doll buildings, which is definitely not childish. I mean, just look at them – little pieces of art. Also, since it’s something that helps Mark to exercise his brain, gives him pleasure and helps to forget about reality, where he’s a man who’s lost practically everything (including his partner, job, skills etc.), who are we to judge? And you can see pure satisfaction on his face when he talks about his collection. I was also quite moved when his friends were showing their support and even proudly saying that Mark dedicated a doll to each one of them. As if it was a very special prize for them. And I think it’s beautiful that Mark hasn’t given up and found his way to feel better. If I ever have a chance, I’d love to see his collection. Also, the documentary shows how joyful Mark is in real life, which is something I missed in the film by Zemeckis, so I guess it’s worth to see the real Marwencol’s creator.
My rating: 7/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 