Tag: mark hogancamp

The first thing I need to work on is my imagination. “Marwencol” (2010)

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directed by Jeff Malmberg
© 2010 The Cinema Guild. All Rights Reserved.

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.

The pain is a rocket fuel. “Welcome to Marwen” (2018)

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directed by Robert Zemeckis
© 2018 Universal Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Somehow I missed this film two years ago, which is strange because I rather like Robert Zemeckis’ films and I should have known about this production. I guess when you watch so many different genres of films, you may sometimes forget about checking up on the directors you know well. I think “Welcome to Marwen” is a little treasure, even though it was rather a failure when it comes to the box-office… But let me tell you what it’s about first. The story is actually based on a real person. Mark Hogancamp (in the film played by Steve Carell) was attacked by a group of men because of his cross-dressing (wearing some typically female clothing items). He ended up in hospital and after several days in coma he woke up with brain damage. He couldn’t remember a thing. Since he struggled to get back to his previous life, the man decided to build a Belgian town from the times of World War II. Don’t worry, not an actual town – a town for dolls. And he filled it with dolls mostly representing his friends. There was also this one doll that was supposed to be himself. You may think this is pure fiction, but in fact, it’s not. Tomorrow I’ll write you about the documentary showing real Mark’s life. However, the film made by Zemeckis is actually not that bad as you may think looking at the box-office. The dolls are animated, so you may feel like you’re inside the main character’s head – those are not toys anymore, they are his actual friends. Maybe the screenplay wasn’t the most exciting, but you should see Steve Carell in this role, because he was amazing. You may appreciate his acting even more after watching the documentary about Mark, but that’s for tomorrow. Today, let Zemeckis take you to a very disturbing doll town.

My rating: 6.5/10
S.