Marwencol

Name: Marwencol
Genre: Documentary
Released: October 8, 2010
Duration: 83 min
Rating: 82

2010

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 18 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Ratings

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7.8

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7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Ratings

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Marwencol

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Movie Details & Credits

Cinema Guild | Release Date: October 8, 2010 | Not Rated

Summary: On April 8, 2000, Mark Hogancamp was brutally attacked outside of a bar by five men. Revived by paramedics, Mark had suffered brain damage and physical injuries so severe even his own mother didn’t recognize him. After nine days in a coma and 40 days in the hospital, Mark was discharged with little memory of his previous life. Unable toOn April 8, 2000, Mark Hogancamp was brutally attacked outside of a bar by five men. Revived by paramedics, Mark had suffered brain damage and physical injuries so severe even his own mother didn’t recognize him. After nine days in a coma and 40 days in the hospital, Mark was discharged with little memory of his previous life. Unable to afford therapy, Mark decided to create his own. In his backyard, he built Marwencol, a 1/6th scale World War II-era town that he populated with dolls representing his friends, family and even his attackers. After a few years, Mark started documenting his miniature dramas with his camera. Through Mark’s lens, these were no longer dolls – they were living, breathing characters in an epic WWII story full of violence, jealousy, longing and revenge. And he (or rather his alter ego, Captain Hogancamp) was the hero. When Mark’s stunningly realistic photos are discovered by an art magazine, and a prestigious gallery comes calling, his homemade therapy suddenly becomes “art,” forcing Mark to make a choice between the safety of his fictional town and the real world beyond it. [The Cinema Guild]… Expand

Director: Jeff Malmberg

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 83 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Kevin Thomas

Oct 25, 2013

Watching Marwencol, Jeff Malmberg's probing documentary on Hogancamp's undertaking, is an exhilarating, utterly unique experience. Read full review

Stan Hall

Oct 24, 2013

One of the most affecting true-life character studies in quite some time. Read full review

J.R. Jones

Jan 13, 2011

This moving documentary sidesteps the usual art-world debates over the authenticity and legitimacy of outsider work; instead director Jeff Malmberg simply immerses us in Hogancamp's world, just as Hogancamp immerses himself in the title town and its horrors. Read full review

Alissa Wilkinson

Dec 20, 2018

Marwencol brings you into Hogancamp’s world as a guest, and as his story slowly unfolds, you come to understand what these stories really mean to him and to his mental health. It’s a quiet, extraordinary film. Read full review

Walter Addiego

Dec 7, 2010

If you have even a passing interest in outsider art, you owe it to yourself to see Marwencol. Read full review

Noel Murray

Jeff Malmberg's documentary Marwencol is at its best when it focuses on Hogancamp's little world, and lets the artist walk the viewer through his town's increasingly dense mythology. Read full review

David Fear

When it comes to capturing the man behind the phenomenon, however, the film never progresses beyond a superficial, weird-yet-wonderful portraiture. Read full review

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User Reviews

joomjim4

Jun 18, 2012

What if art become a form of therapy? This film portrays the strory of this bizarre man using an extraordinariness and miraculousness of art as a therapy to help him able to cope with the expensive lesson he had learnt from the cruelty and heartedness of people who share the same world asWhat if art become a form of therapy? This film portrays the strory of this bizarre man using an extraordinariness and miraculousness of art as a therapy to help him able to cope with the expensive lesson he had learnt from the cruelty and heartedness of people who share the same world as himself. It is new, strange and conducts the super unfimiliar life circumstance of this man with such an enormous maniacal expression. A strange yet very beautiful documentary.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Trailesque

Jul 11, 2021

This straightforward, low budget documentary tells the weird, moving, and unforgettable story of Mark Hogancamp, a man who suffered severe brain trauma as the result of a beating by a gang of young thugs. As he struggled to get back mentally to where he had been before, he became obsessedThis straightforward, low budget documentary tells the weird, moving, and unforgettable story of Mark Hogancamp, a man who suffered severe brain trauma as the result of a beating by a gang of young thugs. As he struggled to get back mentally to where he had been before, he became obsessed with creating dioramas starring toy soldiers, and having them act out dramatic tales, which he would photograph. Eventually some people in the art world took notice of him, and he began having some success. It is wonderful to see that, but it is still quite sad to see a grown man walk down the side of a road pulling a toy Jeep full of toy soldiers whom he feels will protect him from danger.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

henryslavens

Nov 22, 2010

Reminds me of recent documentary Catfish, in that it captures an incredible story that could never have been foreseen at the beginning of the project; however, unlike Catfish, this documentary would have been very interesting with or without its several surprises. What does it look like forReminds me of recent documentary Catfish, in that it captures an incredible story that could never have been foreseen at the beginning of the project; however, unlike Catfish, this documentary would have been very interesting with or without its several surprises. What does it look like for art to be therapy? This story gives an incredibly intriguing answer to that question.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

filmtrashreview

Aug 29, 2011

Marwencol is a touching story of a man that lost everything in a bar fight. He now creates the world that he never had with action figures and barbie dolls in great detail. It's an interesting story and any filmmaker would pick up on such a unique centerpiece for a film. However sometimes itMarwencol is a touching story of a man that lost everything in a bar fight. He now creates the world that he never had with action figures and barbie dolls in great detail. It's an interesting story and any filmmaker would pick up on such a unique centerpiece for a film. However sometimes it seems that the film tells us more about what hasn't happened and less about what has. Still a great documentary.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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