SXSW Review: MARWENCOL

One of the most fascinating things about how a child experiences the world is that everything is new, amazing and curious. Children live in the world with a sense of wonder about everything, great and small. Children have no limits to their imagination and inhibitions about their interests and pleasures. Unfortunately, this is the most valuable part of childhood we lose as adults.

Imagine if, as an adult, you found yourself thrown back into this state of mind. Now, realize that you still maintain an adult’s mind, an adult’s sense of maturity and sense of responsibility. How does an adult cope with having relearned everything after a tragic event leaves you on the cusp of death?

Jeff Malmberg has made a fascinating and powerful documentary in MARWENCOL. The movie introduces the audience to a man named Mark Hogancamp, tragically attacked by five teenagers as he left a bar, beaten to within inches of his life and left for dead. Mark survived, but suffered severe brain damage, forcing him to relearn everything needed to live unassisted.

As truly compelling as this sounds, it is merely the back-story. MARWENCOL delves into Mark’s life having already redeveloped his ability to speak, write and perform all the basic daily tasks that allow him to live almost fully independent. The film details Mark’s experience through his own words, recounting his journey to recovery.

MARWENCOL refers directly to the name Mark has given the 1/6 scale miniature town he has created as a tool to help himself reconnect with his imagination and better understand the world around him. Mark uses old school GI Joe and similar action figure toys as well as Barbie dolls to invent his character inhabiting the town on Marwencol, all of them based upon and named after people he holds dear in his own life.

The physical manifestation of Marwencol exists in Mark’s backyard, but the story evolves from Mark’s imagination. Set during WWII, Mark’s creates heroes and heroines, love interests and lives out his passions and fantasies through his make-believe world. His real-life aggressors are represented by the German SS, seeking out the mysterious town of Marwencol.

The film vividly captures the heart and mind of Mark Hogancamp, a man who is no longer himself, neither better nor worse, but different. As tragic as Mark’s story is, MARWENCOL is also an extremely captivating and inspiring story of a soul rising from the ashes of violence and accomplishing something wonderful. While Mark creates and maintains the town of Marwencol for himself, his work becomes the attention of interested people in the art world and gains notoriety.

The intricacy and detail Mark puts into Marwencol is astounding. The stories he creates are directly derived from his past and the present in which he translates into his world. Women in Mark’s life play an integral role in Marwencol, especially his three loves. Through his imaginary town, and through this documentary, Mark opens up to the audience and reveals aspects of his personality and psyche that most of us would be reluctant to share.

Heart-warming, funny and often delightfully bizarre, MARWENCOL is the rare documentary that feels like a narrative film, telling a story almost stranger than fiction. Mark’s story is unbelievably unique. The audience is permitted to see all sides of Mark, a man no longer held back by the social restraints the rest of us cling to so willingly. MARWENCOL won Jeff Malmberg the Best Documentary prize at SXSW 2010, where the film premiered.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars