Marwencol
| Marwencol | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Jeff Malmberg |
| Produced by | Jeff Malmberg Tom Putnam Matt Radecki Chris Shellen Kevin W. Walsh |
| Starring | Mark Hogancamp |
| Music by | Ash Black Bufflo |
| Edited by | Jeff Malmberg |
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Production
company |
Open Face
|
| Distributed by | The Cinema Guild |
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Release date
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Running time
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83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Marwencol (also known as Village of the Dolls in the UK) is a 2010 American documentary film that explores the life and work of artist and photographer Mark Hogancamp. It is the debut feature of director-editor Jeff Malmberg.
On April 8, 2000, Mark Hogancamp was attacked outside of a bar by five men who beat him nearly to death. After nine days in a coma and forty days in the hospital, Mark was discharged with brain damage that left him little memory of his previous life. Unable to afford therapy, Mark creates his own by building a 1/6-scale World War II-era Belgian town in his yard and populating it with dolls representing himself, his friends, and even his attackers. He calls that town "Marwencol," a portmanteau of the names "Mark," "Wendy" and "Colleen."
When Mark begins documenting his miniature dramas with his camera, his photos are discovered and published by Esopus magazine and even shown in a New York art gallery. But having the label of "art" applied to his intensely personal work forces Mark to make a choice between the safety of his fictional town and the real world he's avoided since his attack.
The film was shot in New York State in the United States between 2006 and 2010, using a combination of DVCAM video and Super-8 film formats.
The film received widespread critical acclaim, holding a 98% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The site awarded the film their "Golden Tomato" Award for the best-reviewed documentary of the year. The Los Angeles Times called the film “an exhilarating, utterly unique experience” while the Village Voice said that it's “exactly the sort of mysterious and almost holy experience you hope to get from documentaries and rarely do.”
The film was in the year-end top ten lists of the Boston Globe,The Globe and Mail,Slate,New York magazine,The Oregonian,National Public Radio, and many others.
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