Steve Carell in “Welcome to Marwen” Will Probably Make You Cry

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Robert Zemeckis has always told two kinds of stories: high flying adventures that required crazed special effects (your Back to the Futures, your Who Framed Roger Rabbits), warm human stories of pain (Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Flight), and it looks like his latest movie, Welcome to Marwen, starring The Office’s Steve Carrell, brilliantly combines both into the kind of movie that I predict will 100% make me cry.

The film, based on a true story, tells the story of Mark Hogancamp, a cross-dresser who was violently beaten by five white supremacist nazis in 2000. After waking up from a coma with no memories, Hogancamp began to cope with his trauma by building models of a fictional Belgian city during World War II: Marwencol, and taking photographs of it as an art project.

The figures could be seen as a way for Hogancamp, himself a war veteran, to process his trauma at being attacked by white supremacists. Hogancamp told the Guardian:

“Marwencol was solely made up so I could kill those five guys. I had no way to do it in real life. I played it over in my head. I’d get caught. I’d go to prison. I’d get the chair. The first time I killed all five of them, I felt a little bit better. That violent hatred and anger subsided a little.”

Hogancamp’s story can be read in this incredible Guardian article about his life, the documentary “Welcome to Marwencol”, which can be found here, and the book of the same name, which can be purchased here on Amazon.

Zemeckis’ film expands on the story by bringing incredible performances and recreations of the life events, but also by bringing Marwencol, and the world inside Hogancamp’s head, to life. It’s the perfect blend of special effects and pathos, as the fragile human story expresses itself through the toys. It looks incredible, and I am excited for another opportunity to revisit this man’s story.

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Also, Janelle Monae is in this and that’s cool.

What do you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments, or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.

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