Thursday, April 18, 2019

Welcome to Marwen


“Welcome to Marwen” stars Steve Carell, Janelle Monae, Leslie Mann and Leslie Zemeckis.
In the film, Steve Carell plays Mark Hogancamp, a gentleman who currently suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)

In a way to work through his PTSD, Mark builds a make believe world known as Marwen. He uses “Glamazon” action figures to act out different stories of his making; he then takes photographs of the dolls in the scenario. There is an action figure that represents Mark, a doll named “Hoagie.”

In the world of Marwen, it is World War II, and it is Hoagie against a band of 5 Nazi officers. (“Hoagie” is Mark’s alter-ego.) There are also 5 women protectors of Marwen, who help keep Hoagie, and therefore Mark, safe. Every action figure that is a women is based on a different woman in Mark’s life.

That is the beauty of this film, that half of the film, if not more, is in the world of Marwen, where everyone is a doll. This movie is definitively a game changer in its innovation. The following video gives a behind the scene look into how this was done:


This movie is based on a true story, of the real Mark Hogancamp. To learn more of Mark’s story, please visit the link below:

“Welcome to Marwen” is a dark movie. Mark Hogancamp is a hate crime survivor. He was brutally attacked by five men in a bar for being queer. The film focuses around his PTSD, and his addiction to prescription medication. The movie is intense and uncomfortable, and is difficult to watch.


That being said, the movie is also about the resilience of the human spirit, and how Mark Hogancamp persevered and began to create art at the darkest time in his life.

“Welcome to Marwen”, on Blu Ray, DVD, Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu. 2 stars.



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