This documentary is the story of Henry Darger, a janitor who had no friends and was often thought to be a bit crazy. Alone in his small apartment over decades, he created a 15,000-page novel and additional works including 12-foot paintings. The film tries to present the inner world of fantasy that Darger created for himself through the words of his magical story — IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL — as well as his autobiography and personal recollections of the few people who knew him.
We learn of his poor childhood and see the parallels between what happened to him when he lived in an orphanage and the war between a Christian army versus the evil child enslavers in his fictional story. He lived so fully in the world of his imagination that he named a general in the Christian army after himself, often acted out the various roles of the characters in his room and debated his own issues, especially religious crisis, within the pages of the novel.
Making him more of an enigma is the varying opinions of his neighbors who really didn’t know him all that well. His writings and paintings have a twisted bent to them, sometimes depicting the mutilation of small naked children. However, there is an overriding innocence to everything. The fact that he drew penises on the little girls is interpreted by one person in the film as Darger’s ignorance of the difference between boys and girls.
To illustrate the story, the film uses a cut-out animation approach to animate Darger’s drawings. What anyone can learn about him will only scratch the surface of who Darger was really, but the film paints a convincing portrait. In telling his story, the film addresses the inner desire of all artists to create. In some ways Darger was writing for an audience of one, but in other ways he was expressing himself to the world. Within this fantasy world — which sometimes leaked into his real life — he was king. Some would say that Darger had no life because of his art, but others might say the opposite. It’s impossible to say if he would have been happier with more friends or family.
In the end, Darger certainly didn’t waste his life. Too many people like him suffer worse fates via the vices of the world. Darger is now a famed artist whose work sells for $100,000 and more. He never saw any of the fame or fortune, but it’s pretty certain that was never his motivation for creating it in the first place. It’s a wonderful film, don’t miss it.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
