Movies 2007 #4

In the Realms of the Unreal – The Mystery of Henry Darger: I’ve been fascinated by outsider artist Henry Darger for several years now, ever since I discovered his story on the Net. Following up on that I was lucky enough to see a pretty big exhibition of Darger’s paintings at a gallery in Chicago when I visited several years ago. Darger is a fascinating figure and there’s a certain tragic beauty to his story that really strikes a chord with me.

When I saw this documentary on Netflix it was pretty much a no brainer to add it to my queue and bump it up to the top and I’m glad I did. It’s a very creative film using a blend of narrative culled from Darger’s writing, his art and personal interviews to paint a lush picture of his life and work. The editing (the lifeblood of a film like this) is excellent and the animation done using Darger’s images really brings the visuals up a level. If you’re interested in outsider art, art in general or just want to learn about a unique life, check it out.