4.5/5
Jeff Malmberg’s Marwencol is a poignant, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting documentary profile of outsider artist Mark Hogencamp who has created a scale model of a World War II town with highly detailed miniatures in order to heal – physically and emotionally – from terrible trauma. While the film’s focus is primarily on one individual’s journey toward wholeness, it does touch on issues of personal identity and the brokenness of our health care system in some profoundly moving ways. The film is structured around the stories Hogencamp tells about the town, a story that mirrors his real-life recovery, and Malmberg captures Hogencamp’s vulnerability in ways that are beautiful and surprising.
