Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

RbDeraj Henry Darger was a man who seemed to be lost in the childhood that was very difficult for him. He was extremely obsessive with his art and writings of his book which seemed to be one story of a never-ending conflict. It almost seemed like a representation of his mind, a constant battle. He even keeping track of the weather in extreme detail for decades. He seemed to be at odds with God, believing and following, but at the same time hating and cursing him. His neighbors said he talked in different voices like a schizophrenic or person with multiple personalities. It was very weird that his memoirs seemed of a person of a solid mind, but the rest of his actions and writings make him seem insane. The documentary itself was descent. I liked how it was narrated partly by a child Dakota Fanning which was very fitting with the themes of Darger's work. It seemed somewhat drawn out and the animation of his drawings was somewhat annoying and unnecessary. Overall it was an interesting story about a strange man.

tedg Henry Darger was a man damaged in childhood who went on to lead a reclusive, long life. As with many of us, he pulled into a fantasy world. Unlike nearly all of us, he found a way to reify that world in text and images. He had no intentions of ever sharing I am sure, but share we can. He is known first for his eccentricity, then his paintings which really are quite remarkable. They illustrate his alternative world where pure little girls formed the army of good against evil. Evil clearly was close to the "real" world. And Darger himself appears in the stories he wrote to supplement the images. And of course he is in the images as well. It is a fascinating story and possibly highly cinematic. There are some facts of his life that were good to learn; and very effective to hear so many conflicting memories of the man. It is valuable to see the images. Some of them are absolutely hypnotizing, especially in the context. But gosh this filmmaker makes so many bad choices. Although the story has no explicit sexual flavor, it is quite close to perverse. My own view is that the world and the girls as he imagined them were tokens of otherworldliness so abstract and pure that they need to be admired for the clean purity. Having Dakota Fanning narrate as one of the Viviane Girls, and with practiced childishness, tips the balance from abstract to absolutely dangerous. A big mistake. The fellow that narrates Darger's inner voice is profoundly wrong too. A narrator could work. Animating the drawings could work. But gosh, either you need to fully buy into the world and enter it as Darger would, or you have to set a platform in between him and us that has some solidity. We have to know who and where we are. This filmmaker does not do that, skipping from place to place with no anchor, no coherence. If the man is about anything, it is coherence. It would have been good to know that some of the "witnesses" here basically stole the man's legacy and became wealthy as a result. Their recall is colored by some pretty crass motives.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Joseph Sylvers A documentary about a hermitic janitor, who upon his death at age 82, leaves his landlords and neighbors to discover his life's work of several hundred paintings, some well over twelve feet long, and a fifteen thousand page book(one of the longest novels in history), all revolving around a children's story called "In The Realms Of The Unreal". The book is about seven sisters named the Vivian sisters who battle a wicked, "Godless", country of child enslaving men, with the help of a good Christian nation. Really moving, tragic, and inspiring. A human drama about the extreme isolation of the artist. A remarkable story, told through beautiful and wonderous art work.

dissidenz Yu does a great job presenting and condensing the work of "outsider artist" Henry Darger. His life, as well as his work, are fascinating enough to make a movie, and Yu does this intelligently, without sensationalizing or sentimentalizing her subject. Darger does come off as a sort of icon of the eccentric loner (is there another kind??), and the discovery of his work is likened, in tone, to the discovery of Tutankhamen's treasury. But Darger's art and writings are extraordinary for any artist, and are worthy of exultation. This movie is a great introduction to Darger's "realm." There are several books on his exhaustive and radiant oeuvre, and originals of his work can be found in several museums and galleries, particularly The American Folk Art Museum and Gallerie St. Etienne, both in New York City. He's worth Google-ing too.