Welcome to Marwen (12A)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis

From the ingenious Robert Zemeckis, who brought us Back to the Future, comes his most unique film to date in which he brings the harrowing yet inspiring life story of artist Mark Hogancamp to the big screen.
 

Hogancamp was brutally beaten up by homophobic thugs in 2000 and when he came out of a nine-day coma he had no memory of his past life and the former illustrator could no longer draw. When his health insurance ran out and would no longer pay for his therapy he turned to art.

Hogancamp built a miniature Belgian World War II town in his back yard to help him reconstruct his memories and filled it with action dolls — each representing a friend or family member. He arranged vignettes in which his nazi attackers were killed in every possible scenario. He then photographed the scenes and they formed the focus of his exhibitions.

Based on Jeff Malmberg’s 2010 documentary on Hogancamp called Marwencol, Zemeckis explores Hogancamp’s (Steve Carell’s) PTSD and the fantasy world of his Marven installation, which he retreats into when life gets too tough, seeking aid and advice from his alter ego capt’n Hogie (Carell) and the women of Marwen.