Building a life, doll by doll

What would you do if you had to relearn your life?

Doll’s life · Hogancamp used toys to help cope with injuries. - Photo courtesy of Cinema Guild Theatrical

That’s what photographer Mark Hogancamp had to ask after he was nearly beaten to death outside a bar in Kingston, N.Y. Left with no money for therapy and little memory of who he was, Hogancamp built a model city in his backyard to cope with his injuries.

So goes Marwencol, the new documentary from Jeff Malmberg, an alumnus from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

The film begins with a series of still shots showing bloodied soldiers, army vehicles and men and women embracing, set to the tune of the 1940s hit, “Dream,” by The Pied Pipers. One would think this was the introduction to a documentary about World War II — except for the fact that the figures in the photos are dolls.

Providing us with a glimpse into Hogancamp’s fascinating world, this opening montage of photographs sets the stage for the film. Named for the miniature World War II-era city that Hogancamp built in his backyard, the documentary follows the man as he struggles to decipher the difference between reality and the very realistic scenes he brings to life at a one-sixth scale every day in Marwencol.

Having suffered serious brain damage in his attack, Hogancamp, who was 38 at the time, was forced to relearn how to do almost everything: speak, walk, read, write and — most importantly — use his imagination.

His miniature city serves as the tool to help him relearn himself.

All the things that Hogancamp feels he can no longer do in real life, his alter ego — a transformed G.I. Joe doll — does in Marwencol. He meets countless women, and even falls in love with some of the dolls.

“I was the only man with 27 Barbies,” Hogancamp says proudly to the camera as he narrates the life of his pint-sized likeness.

But much more powerful than the words Hogancamp uses to narrate the lives of all the dolls who live in Marwencol — many of which are very accurate likenesses of Hogancamp’s friends and family — are the photographs he takes. Although he uses the dolls to enact a war story that he writes in his head, he uses a camera to tell that story in a manner so exquisite that Malmberg, among others, knew it had to be shared with the world.

Upon being discovered, some of Hogancamp’s photographs were first featured in a magazine and put on display in a gallery in New York City. Though his growing fame as a photographer takes up an increased amount of the plot as the film progressed, it is the journey that Hogancamp endures as he meticulously sets up each scene — making sure everything from the miniature rifle to the doll’s cigarette is perfectly in place — that is the most intriguing part of the documentary, and Malmberg is able to convey this journey with unfaltering brutal honesty.

Hogancamp wasn’t afraid to show the video cameras who he really is, despite the fact that revealing some of his offbeat antics gets him in trouble at times. At the same time, Malmberg didn’t abuse the privileged plunge into Hogancamp’s life that he was permitted.

Malmberg’s film shows great respect for Hogancamp and his art, depicting the troubled man who does not consider himself an artist as both brilliant and charming. Through its well-thought-out combination of wide shots showcasing Hogancamp’s most powerful photos and his carefully selected pieces of poignant narration, the documentary provides viewers with 83 minutes of pure admiration.

“At the time, we thought we were doing an eight-minute short for our own benefit,” Malmberg said in a panel discussion after Wednesday’s screening of Marwencol at the School of Cinematic Arts’ Albert and Dana Broccoli Theatre. “But as soon as we met Mark, we knew there was a lot more to learn and explore and discover.”

Producer Kevin Walsh, who also participated in the discussion, pointed out a particular photo that he found most interesting: one from the Hogancamp doll’s wedding day.

“They say a picture’s worth a thousand words — well that picture’s worth a thousand questions,” Walsh said.

Many of the photos that Malmberg chose to include leave viewers with this same feeling of bewilderment and amazement, largely because they seem so real.

The way they are positioned, their facial expressions, their interactions with one another — everything about the dolls is so human, including the feelings, hopes and desires that Hogancamp creates for them.

“Everybody has a dream,” Hogancamp says in the film. “Everybody wishes they had a double they could do things that they could never do.”

The film shows a broken man slowly rebuild his life in a unique way. Although his method was unorthodox, he made it work, and Malmberg managed to tell the story in a way that was true to his efforts.