In the Realms of the Unreal
Wellspring Media | Release Date: December 22, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleJohn McMurtrie
Absorbing and exquisite. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Darger made art as if the lives of his subjects depended on it. That's how Yu has made her movie. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A singular and haunting experience. Read full review
90
Dallas ObserverMelissa Levine
Yu's approach to the material is brilliant. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
One need not necessarily appreciate Darger's art to enjoy Yu's sympathetic, intimate, and often breathtaking journey into the workings of his mind. Read full review
80
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Obscure by nature and unwieldy by design, Darger's work is difficult to confront and consume; Ms. Yu has brought it a little closer, and that is as fine a public service as an art documentary can provide. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
The result is an astonishingly complex, striking original portrait of an artist whose deeply personal art, intended for no one but God and himself, demands to be treated on its own terms. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
A fascinating examination of a mysterious life and the truly bizarre art that it spawned. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Yu has transferred to her superb film, the hushed awe she must have felt the day she walked into the room - and, in a sense, the mind - of this strange, singular individual. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Filmmaker Jessica Yu, in In the Realms of the Unreal, outlines Darger's lonely life and interviews Lerner's elegant, sympathetic widow Kiyoko and other Darger neighbors -- highlighted by enchanting animation of some of Darger's exquisite scrolls. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Yu presents a compelling, somewhat disturbing portrait of the artist, who in 2000 was the subject of a major exhibit that toured the world. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The film, like its subject, is more adroit with pictures than with words. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Has an odd magic about it - the magic of Darger's singularly peculiar dreamworld. Read full review
70
Village VoiceEd Park
Jessica Yu's elegant new doc In the Realms of the Unreal is a spry, creative response to his (Darger's) oceanic talent and claustrophobic life. Read full review
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
The path taken by the film is somewhat labyrinthine and obscure, but it offers enough rewards to counterbalance its frustrations. Read full review
60
VarietyJoe Leydon
Documentarian Jessica Yu employs everything from animation and voiceover thesping to archival documents and eyewitness accounts while examining Henry Darger, a self-taught artist who has been posthumously lionized as a visionary genius. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
In the end, it all gets to be too stifling. The film looks amazing, and there may be no better way to adapt Darger's work to the screen. But Yu's decision to limit the comments on Darger's enduring appeal keeps the audience locked in his cramped room too long, without a window of context. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Even without much in the way of hard facts, Yu makes intuitive leaps, using animated segments to bring to life Darger's work, and therefore the man - or as much of him as it is possible to fathom. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneAlan G. Artner
If this documentary were about a serious painter, it would be judged a travesty not unlike commercials that goose up the couple in "American Gothic" or show the Mona Lisa laughing. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Yu's portrait of Darger, which clocks in at 82 minutes, skims over the only aspect of his life that commands respect: his craft. Read full review
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