Universal Pictures has released a new trailer for Welcome to Marwen, and if you were confused about the film before, this trailer spells it right out. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film is based on a documentary, Marwencol, by Jeff Malmberg, which tells the story of Mark Hogancamp, who loses his memories after being beaten almost to death, and as a form a therapy (because he can afford no other), he makes a replica of a tiny Belgian village and populates it with characters that represent him and those in his life—both loved ones, and his attackers.

It's an inspiring story, and Zemeckis' approach is certainly ambitious, but Universal has seemingly made no effort to make this film available to the critics groups or voting bodies that would consider it for awards this year. Despite the trailer touting this as the new film from the groundbreaking director of Forrest Gump, that kind of signals that the studio doesn't necessarily believe this film has much chance with awards. But perhaps that's not what Zemeckis was going for, and I could see the film being a feel-good hit over the holidays. At the very least, I'm always game to see what kind of ambitious new challenge Zemeckis has set for himself.

Check out the new Welcome to Marwen trailer below followed by a new poster. The film stars Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Merritt Wever, Eiza González, Gwendolyn Christie, Janelle Monáe, Leslie Zemeckis, Diane Kruger, and Neil Jackson. Welcome to Marwen opens in theaters on Friday, December 21st.

Here’s the official synopsis for Welcome to Marwen:

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Flight, Cast Away) directs Steve Carell in the moving true story of one broken man’s fight as he discovers how artistic imagination can restore the human spirit.

 

The screenplay for Welcome to Marwen was written by Caroline Thompson and Zemeckis, while Oscar®-winning producer Steve Starkey (Forrest Gump, Flight), Jack Rapke (Cast Away, Flight), and Cherylanne Martin (The Pacific, Flight) of Zemeckis’ Universal-based ImageMovers banner produce alongside the director. It is executive produced by Jackie Levine, as well as Jeff Malmberg, who directed the riveting 2010 documentary upon which this film is based.