Jeanette Bonds

Elgin Park is a captivating documentary about Michael Paul Smith, the reclusive artist whose photographs of hand built and realistic miniatures of his imaginary town Elgin Park went viral. Director Danny Yourd guides us through the life of this meticulous artist and his surprisingly somber inspiration behind his craft. The film provides us with an intimate exchange with Smith, allowing us to, in just a seven minutes, feel as though we have engaged in a direct exchange with the artist.

While the photos of Elgin Park carry a mystical and nostalgic sense of what many perceive to be a better and happier time, there is a certain and surprising darkness behind each photograph. The imaginary town is not just an iconic remembrance of the past in its most positive light, but rather Smith inserts nuanced yet realistic fragments of an imaginable narrative. Yourd’s cinematic approach to the film is perfectly reflective of Smith’s artistic approach; as the film progresses it too goes from being a seemingly positive portrait of an artist to becoming a more intimate and real experience with the man within the artist.

It’s interesting to watch the sort of positive emotional impact internet virality can have on a person. In some ways it seems as though Smith spent much of his life knowing himself but not necessarily knowing his place in the world. As the film suggests he found his place in Elgin Park, and the various communities that have received his work because of the virality have satisfied Smith’s internal desire to make a difference and touch others in the world.