Review of In the Realms of the Unreal (2004) by Demonic N — 26 Jul 2006

[b]Enter the Unreal[/b].

When does a documentary cross the line? Academy Award winning director Jessica Yu's first feature film, [i]In the Realms of the Unreal[/i], examines the life and work of Henry Darger. Darger had a childhood worthy of a Dickens novel, a dead mother, a sick father who sent him to live in an orphanage, cruel care-keepers, a work farm for mentally unstable boys, until he finally ran away at the age of 17. He spent the rest of his life working menial jobs, most of it as a janitor.

It was his secret life that makes him so damn fascinating. In his off time he wrote a 15,000 page fantasy novel; "Perhaps the world's longest." He also created hundreds of intricate paintings to go along with his story. Nobody knew a thing about it until his death. Would a man who was so secretive want his life exposed through the medium of film? I doubt it. But maybe the world deserves to know about such a curious person.

[i]In the Realms of the Unreal[/i] captures the man's work, but doesn't try to explain the why's. There are no psychiatrist or art critic interviews digging into who Darger was or why he created this world solely for himself. In a refreshing move there are no talking heads until about 20 minutes into the film. The only people that talk about him, are the few that knew him, his landlords and neighbors. They simply regurgitate their, often conflicting, memories about the man. We gain a bit of insight into who he was, but it left me wanting more.

Luckily Henry Darger also wrote an autobiography. It is read in 1st person throughout and helps us to get to know the man better. But it is his work that's really on display in the film. His story about the Vivian sisters, young princesses struggling to free child slaves from the evil anti-Christian Glandelinians is told through voice-over and his paintings brought to life with animation. His artwork is quite unique and makes for a grand spectacle all on it's own, animating it almost seems like overkill. Again I was mainly left wondering if Darger would have appreciated his work "corrupted" in this way.

Henry Darger, certainly was a very intriguing fellow. [i]In the Realms of the Unreal[/i] offers us a glimpse at the man. It isn't the last word on him, there is much more to be said. I think that filmmaker Jessica Yu knew that there was too much too explore. That she should merely put her interpretation of Darger out there and let others chime in with their own opinions. It left me wanting to find a book about him.