In an episode of the This American Life tv show, there is a version of this film. I don't see any mention of it on Jeff Malmberg's bio page, so I was wondering, did he direct that segment, and if so, was the segment the inspiration for the full length documentary or was the segment a small piece of the bigger picture that he created for the tv show?
shareThe segment that features Mark was shot for only a few days and was done a full two years into the filming of the documentary. The documentary was a four-year shoot - i.e. they were filming for two years before the TAL segment and kept filming for two years after it.
shareHey, I talked to Jeff about this, and Jeff was filming Mark for Marwencol before the segment on This American Life. Those people came and did a little filming during Jeff's process of making his outstanding movie. I think Jeff did a much better job capturing the essence of Marwencol, you can truly see the trust between Mark and his director. It was so amazing.
Dream for a while...of the things that make you smile ~ RJD
I, too, got a hold of the "This American Life" segment thinking that Jeff Malmberg had created it as a precursor to the finished feature film -- something like the 8-minute short subject Malmberg thought he was going to do when he first read about Mark.
It wasn't that; and, if nothing else it, showed that the great movie that Malmberg made wasn't just there for the taking for anybody who showed up with a camera. Mark's affect was so different in the TAL interview than it was in the movie, I actually wondered if he had taken medication to get through it.
Still, if you really liked the movie, I think the TAL segment it worth taking a look as a sort of supplement. For example, while Malmberg focused on the ritual/symbolic strategies Mark has for managing his anxieties when he leaves his house -- like making sure his sixth-scale posse is packing plenty of heat -- the TAL segment shows, without comment, that he carries a can of pepper spray on his belt. That gave me a different perspective on the burden of fear this man bears.
The TAL segment also features a great Marwencol story in which Deja Thoris snaps an SS guy's neck with her bare hands. Plus, if you look very closely at the part where Mark is outside walking through Marwencol, you'll see that, along with his t-shirt and jeans, he's wearing his preferred footwear. That was cool. Really pointy ones, too.