Monday, April 19, 2010

Did you know the American Revolutionary War began today in 1775?

Kimmy and I saw Exit through the Gift Shop Saturday night.  Easily the best film I've seen in a long time.  If you are in NYC, I encourage you to go and see it immediately.  If you are in Utah, sorry, but you missed your chance when it premiered at Sundance.

The documentary follows Thierry Guetta, an offbeat and slightly crazy Frenchman who lives in Los Angeles and videotapes everything.  Literally.  He has hundreds, if not thousands of tapes, filled with footage--from the moment he wakes up to the second he falls asleep, Guetta has a video camera recording everything.  By chance, Guetta and camera eventually tunnel into the world of street art through his cousin, the graffiti artist known as Space Invader.  Filming this not-quite-legal art scene becomes something of an obsession for Guetta and he soon befriends and captures legends like Shepard Fairey as they work on rooftops and in alleys under the cover of night, until he finally stumbles upon the elusive holy grail of street artists: Banksy.  From there, the film takes an interesting shift as Banksy takes over the creation of the documentary (after Guetta fails to produce anything watchable) and Guetta takes up the pseudonym Mr. Brainwash and makes his debut in the street art world with surprising results.  The whole film is a riot as well as thought-provoking.


Check out the trailer below.





Some Banksy art.






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