In the Realms of the Unreal

B

Directed by Jennifer Yu

Jennifer Yu's documentary about the peculiar life of folk artists Henry Darger offers a fascinating look at the man's art but struggles to peace together the details of Darger's reclusive existence.

Darger was born in Chicago and suffered a difficult childhood, eventually being sent to an orphanage after his father's death. He eventually turned into a reclusive and quiet man, living in a one bedroom flat in a Chicago building owned by Kioyoko Lerner and her husband. Darger worked as a janitor and seemed to have no other interests or friends and led what appeared to those around him to be a lonely life. After his death, Lerner found a huge trove of art in Darger's room, featuring multicolored, wildly imaginative works, some of which were close to 12 feet tall, as well as a 15,000 page illustrated novel titled "In the Realms of the Unreal."

Despite the many strengths of Yu's work, I couldn't shake the feeling that the analysis of Darger was noticeably thin. The problem, I believe, stems from the fact that no one, not Darger's landlord, not his fellow tenants, not even those at the catholic church he attended on a daily basis, really knew Darger. Although his work reveals much about the man, his extreme secrecy makes it diffifcult for anyone interviewed by Yu to give anything approaching serious insight into the man. Yu's film thus wades rather liberally into speculation on everything ranging from his relationship with his parents to potentional psychological illnesses. None of it is malicious and those being interviewed all seem to have a soft spot for the eccentric Darger, but it still remains that no one seems to know enough about the man to offer any authoritative commentary. Yu seems content to allow Darger to be shrouded in mystery and hearsay but her film leaves the viewer feeling by the end of it like they know little more about Darger than at the beginning.

The animation of Darger's work, likely considered blashpemous by folk art purists, was rather delightful in my opinion, bringing Darger's eccentric and colorful work to life in a way that seems to befit Darger's creations. Even though Yu strikes out when it comes to her attempts at appraising Darger himself, her grasp of his art is fantastic and she succesfully emphasizes his creative process and the idiosyncracies of his world. Darger's art remains the film's main draw and his folk aesthethic, filled with fanciful creatures and bright colors, is eye popping and joyful even if it bellies the artirst's own insecurities and loneliness. What struck me the most about Darger's story, however, is how completely humans can retreat away from the real world and into an alternate universe and be, for better or worse, content there. All persons tend to retreat to some extent to a certain alternative universe of their own creation, be it their imagination, art, or any other escape, but Darger is one of the unique few to have escaped almost completely into a different reality while still staying at least partially connected to the real world. A fascinating character, to be sure.