IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL
Directed, Written & Edited by: Jessica Yu.
Produced by: Jessica Yu & Susan West.
Director of Photography: Tim Bieber.
Music by: Jeff Beal.
Released by: Wellspring.
Country of Origin: USA. 81 min. Not Rated.

There is no question that director Jessica Yu has examined the life of "outsider artist" Henry Darger in more detail than any art historian or documentarian before her. And her skill as a filmmaker is evident as she explores Darger's life in minute detail. However, the problem with this film is that Darger's life was anything but interesting, and his drawings and writings, which were his passion, are simply not captivating.

Henry Darger was an elderly recluse who died in 1973 after working as a janitor his entire adult life. He was a somewhat childlike adult, afraid of people and died lonely and bitter. Seemingly fascinated by children, he even periodically attempted to adopt children. The interviews with his neighbors verify the extraordinary contrast between a man who apparently lived simply and uneventfully while actually producing vast amounts of art.

Yu artfully weaves Darger's vivid drawings onto the screen while introducing portions of his 15,000 page, single-spaced typed novel, In the Realms of the Unreal, perhaps one of the longest novels ever written. Problematically, the art doesn't hold one's attention, and this is critical when the artist was a recluse with few remarkable personality traits. The novel is neither well crafted nor insightful, so Yu apparently focuses more heavily on Darger's drawings, which, unfortunately, are similarly not compelling. In the end, one feels the filmmaker's passion for the subject almost succeeds in making the movie a worthwhile endeavor. Yet inevitably, most viewers will end up wondering why the film needed to be made. Michael Morley, President of CineBLAST! Productions (Revolution #9, Bobby G. Can't Swim & Spring Forward)
December 22, 2004