Synopsis
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
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Cast
- Henry DargerHimself
- Larry PineHenry Darger (Voice)
- Dakota FanningNarrator/Vivian Girls (Voice)
- Frier McCollisterVoice
- Wally WingertVoice
- Mary O'DonnellHerself (Neighbor)
- Kiyoko LernerHerself (Landlady)
Recommendations
- 100
San Francisco Chronicle
Absorbing and exquisite. - 91
Entertainment Weekly
A singular and haunting experience. - 80
The New York Times
Obscure by nature and unwieldy by design, Darger's work is difficult to confront and consume; Ms. Yu has brought it a little closer, and that is as fine a public service as an art documentary can provide. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
The result is an astonishingly complex, striking original portrait of an artist whose deeply personal art, intended for no one but God and himself, demands to be treated on its own terms. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
A fascinating examination of a mysterious life and the truly bizarre art that it spawned. - 75
New York Post
Yu presents a compelling, somewhat disturbing portrait of the artist, who in 2000 was the subject of a major exhibit that toured the world. - 70
Village Voice
Jessica Yu's elegant new doc In the Realms of the Unreal is a spry, creative response to his (Darger's) oceanic talent and claustrophobic life. - 60
Variety
Documentarian Jessica Yu employs everything from animation and voiceover thesping to archival documents and eyewitness accounts while examining Henry Darger, a self-taught artist who has been posthumously lionized as a visionary genius.