One of the few directors who is able to still wrangle a decent-sized budget for Hollywood studio fare that doesn’t involve capes or anything of the ilk, Robert Zemeckis’ formally inventive films are still ones to marvel at. Following his return to live-action with the trio of Flight, The Walk, and Allied, his next project looks is a mix of that realm and a healthy dose of motion capture.
Welcome to Marwen, another remake of a documentary from the director, is based on the 2010 film Marwencol, and after a wild first trailer, a second one has now arrived that shifts tones to an entirely inspirational one, perhaps fitting for its new December holiday release date. The story follows Steve Carell’s character in the true story of a man who was beaten into a coma, leaving memory loss, he then constructs a fantastical World War II-era world of dolls that fight the Nazis, sharing parallel to his real world.
See the new trailer below for the film starring Leslie Mann, Diane Kruger, Merritt Wever, Janelle Monáe, Eiza González, Gwendoline Christie, Leslie Zemeckis, and Neil Jackson.
This holiday season, Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis—the groundbreaking filmmaker behind Forrest Gump, Flight and Cast Away—directs Steve Carell in the most original movie of the year. Welcome to Marwen tells the miraculous true story of one broken man’s fight as he discovers how artistic imagination can restore the human spirit.
When a devastating attack shatters Mark Hogancamp (Carell) and wipes away all memories, no one expected recovery. Putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous town where he can heal and be heroic. As he builds an astonishing art installation—a testament to the most powerful women he knows—through his fantasy world, he draws strength to triumph in the real one.
In a bold, wondrous and timely film from this revolutionary pioneer of contemporary cinema, Welcome to Marwen shows that when your only weapon is your imagination…you’ll find courage in the most unexpected place.
Welcome to Marwen opens on December 21.