This is a movie Banksy likes to describe as ‘The world’s first Street Art disaster movie’ – which it definitely is, but it’s also the story of ‘The world’s greatest Street Art movie that was never made’. All of which begs the question – so what the heck is it? You know there’s a joke on someone – you just hope it isn’t you - which I suspect is exactly what Banksy the Director wants you to think.
Review (not mine but...)
Despite the hours of intense discussion amongst intense people that Banksy’s directorial debut is likely to produce, if you allow yourself to roll with the fusion of fact and fiction and just enjoy the hyper-realistic ride, – there’s plenty to love about this movie – or the movie within the movie.
Let’s start with what we think is a plot: The movie begins with Thierry Guetta, an LA-based Frenchman who is obsessed with filming everything – he’s like a video paparazzi on steroids – and to say he is a nutter is one of life’s great understatements. On a visit back to France, Guetta accompanies his nephew, Space Invader, a well-known street artist, on clandestine escapades through the streets. This process reawakens his adrenaline gene, and Thierry’s obsession with street art is born. Upon his return to LA, Thierry meets and documents the work of various street artists through the Invader connection, including Shepard Fairy, who would go on to create the iconic Barack Obama ‘Hope’ poster. At this point, we are enjoying a documentary about a hapless videographer (he can hardly be called a filmmaker) beginning to document the evolution of the street art movement, with the hook being Thierry’s attempts to film the biggest player on the scene, who is also the most elusive: the Englishman known as Banksy. After numerous dead ends and fruitless attempts at contacting Banksy, Thierry is about to give up in despair. Then things get really weird.
Enter Banksy, who happens to be in LA and looking for a guy to show him all the best sites and watch his back while he does his thing (produce street art in the middle of the night without being busted by the cops). And as long as Thierry blurs Banksy’s face, he’s allowed to film. At some point in this next phase of the movie, Banksy works out that Theirry’s story is much more interesting than his own and somehow the movie becomes a story about Thierry, and Banksy takes second billing to this deeply flawed, highly amusing, either completely gifted or completely insane character. If you can believe that Guetta takes Banksy’s advice, reinvents himself as a street artist, and leaves the editing of his thousands of hours of footage to Banksy instead, then what happens next delivers pure joy for anyone in the audience.
At this point in the review, we will respect Banksy’s wish not to give away the ending, keeping in mind his hand-written press release advising ‘Everything you are about to see is true, especially the bit where we all lie.’ How it all ends provides the fuel for those intense conversations I talked about earlier, keeping in mind one of my favourite quotes from the movie, a line delivered by Banksy: ‘I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that anymore.’
Is it a hoax? Or is it fact?... you decide. I enjoyed it too much to really care...
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