Cult British graffiti artist Banksy’s first filmmaking foray is sprayed wall-to-wall with his subversive wit.
What started as a street-art documentary by amateur camera-addict Thierry Guetta has been slyly retooled as a fascinating portrait of this madcap Frenchman himself and the power of art world hype.
Narrated by Rhys Ifans, footage from the past decade shows Guetta scaling buildings with leading street artists like Shepard Fairey, and joining Banksy on a mission to sneak a Guantanamo Bay blow-up doll into Disneyland.
The absurdity goes up a notch when Banksy commandeers the camera and Guetta – under moniker Mr Brainwash – channels his talent-free energies into an ultra-ambitious LA art show.
Interviewed in identity-concealing shadow, the appealingly wry Banksy freely admits he’s no film pro. But while stylistically the film’s merely adequate, its French subject is as diverting as a motorway pile-up.
Not bad going, especially with all the funky street art thrown in as scenery.
