Movie Review: "Marwencol"

 In anticipation of the release next month of the drama "Welcome to Marwen,"  movie moles Frann and Jan  revisit the 2010 documentary "Marwencol," directed by Jeff Malmberg.  “Marwencol” is available  as a DVD at the Multnomah County Library.

 Unable to afford therapy after a near-death assault, Mark Hogancamp devotes himself to building a 1/6th-scale World War II era Belgian village that he populates with dolls and props. He calls the town "Marwencol." He takes photographs of his creations, which when discovered thrust him into uncertain limelight.

Frann and Jan consider how the film expresses - visually as well as narratively - a too-uncommon respect for those with mental disabilities; how Hogancamp's creations allow him to work through or in some way deal with his trauma; and how his relationship to these dolls, including barbies, ties him to a caring community, and while fetishistic is not merely consumerist.