Movie Review: Welcome to Marwen (on DVD)

Welcome to Marwen
[DVD Welcome]

Based on the 2010 documentary Marwencol, this 2018 feature film was directed by Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, the Back to the Future trilogy), and starred Steven Carrell. Carrell portrays Mark Hogancamp, a middle-aged man who was brutally assaulted outside a bar, and suffered both brain damage and PTSD. Hogancamp’s methods of coping with the stresses life throws at him after the attack is to create an alternate reality — a WWII-era village of Marwen, populated by highly-detailed actor figures (including a central heroic American soldier that is his own alter-ego). The real-life Hogancamp did this, crafting detailed settings for scenes that he then photographed in a very artistic manner. Marwen is constantly threatened by Nazi soldiers, and is defended by both Mark’s soldier and a variety of exotic and capable women.

The twist in Welcome to Marwen, as opposed to the documentary, is that the filmmakers bring the action figures to life, and we see their adventures in a complicated mash-up of “stop motion animation” and computer generated effects. The “dolls” definitely share the appearance of the actors whose movements were recorded for those performances — including Eiza Gonzalez, Janelle Monae, Gwendoline Christie and more.

But the technical elements are only a part of the story. In the “real world” of Hogancamp, we see his difficulty in interacting with the people he’s surrounded by, and his stark terror at showing up for the trial and sentencing of the group of men who assaulted him. We also see his discomfort at making a public appearance when a gallery does a showing of his acclaimed photography. Carrell turns in a terrific performance, as do many of the supporting actors. I will say, however, that since I had previously seen (and review) Marwencol, and therefore know what the actual Mark Hogancamp looked and behaved like, I was a bit disappointed that his eccentricities were not better captured for this film.

None the less, though I recommend viewing Marwencol either before or after Welcome to Marwen, I do recommend this film. It’s an interesting mix of a vivid internal fantasy world crossed with an emotional journey of recovery for a damaged man.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the 2014 remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Ben Stiller.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Welcome to Marwen Facebook page ]

See also: Scott C.’s review of Marwencol here on BookGuide in August 2018

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

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