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In the Realms of the Unreal
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Wikipedia article
'In the Realms of the Unreal' is a 2004 American documentary film written and directed by Jessica Yu about American outsider artist Henry Darger (18921973).[https://ew.com/article/2005/01/13/realms-unreal/ EW.com][https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mystery-henry-darger-jessica-yu_b_876725 HuffPost][https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-21-et-unreal21-story.html 'Unreal' and unrevealing - Los Angeles Times]
Summary
An obscure janitor during his life, Darger is known for the posthumous discovery of his elaborate 15,145-page fantasy manuscript entitled 'The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion', along with several hundred watercolor paintings, collages and other drawings illustrating the story.[https://web.library.yale.edu/film/news/realms Treasures from the Yale Film Archive: IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL|Yale University Library][https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/22/movies/the-fantasy-world-of-a-mysterious-artist.html The Fantasy World of a Mysterious Artist - The New York Times][https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2005/02/04/in-the-realms-of-an-outsider/352bb75a-8441-42f3-a3a7-f01fa9be0d66/ 'In the Realms' of an Outsider - The Washington Post]
Content
The film's style is atypical of a documentary. Because there are only three known photographs of Darger, and because of his reclusive lifestyle, the film is mostly a narrated biographical account, accompanied by animated versions of events from his 'magnum opus', which is also surveyed in detail. Interviews with his few neighbors and other acquaintances are included. The film's use of a child actor as its narrator is also unconventional as Dakota Fanning was only seven years old when she narrated the film.[https://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/Realms-Unreal-894.html CINEMABLEND][https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/in-the-realms-of-the-unreal/ Slant Magazine][https://www.deseret.com/2005/4/7/20090816/film-review-in-the-realms-of-the-unreal Deseret News]
Reception
The film has a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 74 on Metacritic.[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_the_realms_of_the_unreal Rotten Tomatoes][https://www.metacritic.com/movie/in-the-realms-of-the-unreal Metacritic]
Accolades
The film won the National Film Board Award for Best Documentary at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival[https://www.indiewire.com/2004/11/wellspring-announces-deal-for-oscar-contender-in-the-realms-of-the-unreal-78541/ Wellspring Announces Deal for Oscar Contender In The Realms of the Unreal|IndieWire] while it was also nominated for Best Documentary Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America and a Gotham Award for Best Documentary.[https://variety.com/2004/film/markets-festivals/gotham-awards-laud-best-indie-features-1117913337/ Gotham Awards laud best indie features - Variety]
References
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