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A town like no other Jim Keogh
Thank goodness for documentary filmmaking, because without it the story of Mark Hogancamp may never have made it to a screen — his saga is simply too strange for fiction.
What screenwriter would have the stones to pitch this to a studio exec: 10 years ago Hogancamp was beaten so viciously by five men outside of a bar that he wound up in a coma. When he awoke he’d lost his long-term memory, the ability to speak, walk and write ... but he’d been cured of his alcoholism. His recovery was painful and slow. Since he couldn’t afford a therapy regimen, he fashioned his own by constructing a miniature World War IIera “town” in his backyard, populated by U.S. soldiers, Nazis and femme fatales – all dolls at a one-sixth scale. An artmagazine editor heard of his work and helped land him an exhibit in a tiny Greenwich Village gallery. I’d also mention the cross-dressing, but then you’d never believe me. What a tale is Marwencol, told with love and patience by director Jeff Malmberg, and with courage by
Hogancamp, who opens himself up to a camera like few ever had. Marwencol, the name of the town that Hogancamp invents, is the only place that makes sense to him; it’s both a sanctuary and an ever-evolving piece of art by an artist so obsessive that he “walks” his miniature Army jeep for miles to roughen up the tires so they don’t look new. Hogancamp’s obsession becomes viable once you begin to get a handle on how thoroughly his life was interrupted by the beating. Malmberg peels the story back delicately, letting us learn about Hogancamp through his own narration (he was married, but can’t recall anything about his ex; he was a gifted illustrator with R. Crumb-like talent, but drank it away) and through the voices of his friends in the small town of Kingston, N.Y. Each of them is represented by a doll in Marwencol, and they “participate” in the various WWII tableaux he devises with painstaking detail and then photographs for posterity. Hogancamp’s own bomberjacketed avatar is the hero, of course, falling in love, getting into scrapes with the Nazis, even being subjected to torture. The disturbing visual detail in some of these scenarios, and the rescue fantasies associated with them, are clearly Hogancamp’s postfacto effort to exert the control over his personal journey that he lost outside that bar 10 years earlier. Marwencol is reminiscent of Lars and the Real Girl, the 2007 film about a troubled young man who believes that a blow-up doll is his girlfriend. His fellow townies not only indulge his delusion, they enhance it by treating the doll as a flesh-and-blood person. Here too, Hogancamp gets little push-back from the local community, save for one woman who is understandably creeped out by the attention he lavishes on her doll and his fumbling attempt to establish an emotional connection with her. Marwencol is one of the most unusual, affecting movies you’ll see this year. In retrospect, the pitch is easy: man plays with dolls; man finds a life. Marwencol will be shown Thursday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1 and 2:45 p.m. in the Jefferson Academic Center at Clark University. The film is part of the Cinema 320 series.
March 18-20, 2011 Location Sturbridge Host Hotel 366 Main Street Sturbridge, MA 01566
Live Tattooing Body Piercing Apparel & Accessories
Hours: Friday, March 19 3PM-10PM
Live Music & Entertainment
Saturday, March 20 11AM-10PM Sunday, March 21 11AM-5pm
Tattoo Contest Special Guest: Lyle Tuttle
Ticket Prices: Day Pass: $15 Weekend Pass: $35
Featuring Artists such as Marshall Bennett, Khan, & Kyle Cotterman - just to name a few! Our Master of Ceremonies: Tyler Fyre Amazing Entertainment by the Lucky Daredevil Thrillshow Live Music from The Babe Pino Band Daily tattoo contests Apparel & accessories, body jewelry, artwork and so much more!!!
MARCH 3, 2011 • WORCESTERMAG.COM
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