The Mysterious street artist/vandal/topic of controversy Banksy opens with his first film, a documentary about an attempted documentary maker. Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant in Los Angeles is a camera obsessive, who through his cousin ‘Invader’, gets gradually more and more involved in the subversive world of street art. Those of you wishing to see Banksy’s face or voice will be disappointed as he’s dubbed over, but the film, rather than being about him, is rather more directed by him, about the original filmmaker as a ‘more interesting character’.

BY DEREK CROSBY

www.queensfilmtheatre.com

Throughout the film we are left wondering whether Guetta (or ‘Mr. Brainwash’ as is his Streetname) is a budding genius, or simply mentally deficient. With a bit of tongue in cheek humour and satire (as one would expect ), and some touching moments of a more human nature, we are led through what the movie describes as “the greatest counter-culture movement since punk”, from the inception of Thierry to the movement to the opening of his first major exhibit. We soon realise that it is the journey itself that is more interesting than the end result. Towards the end of the film, when Guetta begins to become big in his own right, we realise just how much effort goes into this subversive art form, and that one cannot simply ‘go into’.

If you don’t know who Banksy is, then google him, but this film will probably be of little interest to you. Overall, it’s very informative, a little funny, and extremely thought provoking. It smacks a little of artistic snobbery towards the end, both in the portrayal of Guetta, and in the portrayal of reactions to him (both personal and public).