I’m still trying to process this film but I have a feeling that, like Meg Hamel, the festival director, this may become my favorite film of the festival - and it’s only day two! I have been looking forward to this documentary for quite a while and am so grateful that I was able to see it at the Wisconsin Film Festival! This is the story of a man who suffered a horrendous beating after a night of drinking and ended up with massive brain damage, requiring him to relearn everything from eating to walking and talking. After he was released from the hospital with no insurance he turned to his imagination and artistic spirit to learn how to cope with his trauma and survive. This “art therapy” became what is now the town of Marwencol - a place where WWII soldiers from both sides of the line come to drink, have fun, and watch staged cat fights. What even more special about this town, other than the fact that the soldiers get along, is that it stands no more than 3 feet high and the inhabitants are actually dolls.
This film had such an impact on me that I am not sure what to say… so I’ll through out some adjectives that might convince you to see this film: powerful, astonishing, miraculous, beautiful, touching, incredible, inspiring… I could go on but I won’t.
This film really touched a nerve with me, and I mean that in a good way. However, what makes it even more remarkable is how this story is told - it unfolds in such a way that makes you feel like you are in Mark Hogancamp, the artist’s, shoes - which I may add are most likely high heels! The truly tragic part of his story is that he was very likely attacked because he got extremely drunk at a bar and said he was a cross dresser and 5 young men who were also intoxicated took offense to that and beat him senseless outside the bar. The only thing I felt was missing from the film was the story of what happened to the assailants - I would have like to know if they were convicted/sentenced for this hate crime.
This is a film that I believe will stay with me for quite some time. I not only recommend you see this film - showing again tomorrow, Friday April 1st at 10:30 pm at the Bartell Theatre in Madison - but also recommend you check out Mark’s gallery at marwencol.com, where you can also find out more about the film and purchase the DVD which comes out April 4th. If you are also interested, Marwencol was featured in a season 2 episode of Showtime’s This American Life! I would also highly recommend the entire This American Life series, which sadly only aired for 2 seasons: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/tv-archives/season-two/going-down-history
I’m still trying to process this film but I have a feeling that, like Meg Hamel, the festival director, this may become my favorite film of the festival - and it’s only day two! I have been looking forward to this documentary for quite a while and am so grateful that I was able to see it at the Wisconsin Film Festival! This is the story of a man who suffered a horrendous beating after a night of drinking and ended up with massive brain damage, requiring him to relearn everything from eating to walking and talking. After he was released from the hospital with no insurance he turned to his imagination and artistic spirit to learn how to cope with his trauma and survive. This “art therapy” became what is now the town of Marwencol - a place where WWII soldiers from both sides of the line come to drink, have fun, and watch staged cat fights. What even more special about this town, other than the fact that the soldiers get along, is that it stands no more than 3 feet high and the inhabitants are actually dolls.
This film had such an impact on me that I am not sure what to say… so I’ll through out some adjectives that might convince you to see this film: powerful, astonishing, miraculous, beautiful, touching, incredible, inspiring… I could go on but I won’t.
This film really touched a nerve with me, and I mean that in a good way. However, what makes it even more remarkable is how this story is told - it unfolds in such a way that makes you feel like you are in Mark Hogancamp, the artist’s, shoes - which I may add are most likely high heels! The truly tragic part of his story is that he was very likely attacked because he got extremely drunk at a bar and said he was a cross dresser and 5 young men who were also intoxicated took offense to that and beat him senseless outside the bar. The only thing I felt was missing from the film was the story of what happened to the assailants - I would have like to know if they were convicted/sentenced for this hate crime.
This is a film that I believe will stay with me for quite some time. I not only recommend you see this film - showing again tomorrow, Friday April 1st at 10:30 pm at the Bartell Theatre in Madison - but also recommend you check out Mark’s gallery at marwencol.com, where you can also find out more about the film and purchase the DVD which comes out April 4th. If you are also interested, Marwencol was featured in a season 2 episode of Showtime’s This American Life! I would also highly recommend the entire This American Life series, which sadly only aired for 2 seasons: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/tv-archives/season-two/going-down-history
