FrankS
Registered User
I'd be interested in hearing people's thoughts on this one.
If you haven't seen it, do so.
If you haven't seen it, do so.
dave lackey
Veteran
maclaine
Well-known
Dave, here's some background.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_Through_the_Gift_Shop
Trailer (although this does little to explain what the movie is about) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTlm6dU2xHk
I've been a fan of Banksy's for a little while before seeing it, which was only a couple weeks ago. He was in Boston last year promoting it when it was released, and he put up these two pieces while he was in town. The first one was right outside my old office. When I saw it I thought, "Huh. Someone in town is ripping off Banksy." Only later did I learn that it was, in fact, him.
As for the film, I'm not sure what to think. There's the part of me that suspects Mr. Brainwash is bogus and it's all an elaborate prank by Banksy. Given some of the other things he's been responsible for, it wouldn't surprise me. Still, the amount of elaborate planning almost seems too much. Clearly the guy who is Mr. Brainwash has been doing his obsessive video taping for some time, before Banksy ever got started. So, Banksy would have had to encounter this guy at some point, learn about his obsessive video taping, and then convince him to pull off this over the top prank which would take years to reveal itself. Again, none of this is impossible, just implausible.
On the other hand, it's also hard to believe this guy with only a modest degree of talent has become so successful. Actually, as I write that, I realize how dumb it sounds, because people pull this off all the time. In fact, sometimes it seems like you need to be a self-aggrandizing hack in order to make it at all in any creative field. I don't think the guy is an actor, only because I know way too many people just like him. If he is an actor, than he should have won an Oscar for how convincing his performance is as an opportunistic, narcissistic wanna be. It's the most natural performance I've seen on film maybe ever.
Whether a hoax or not, I don't think it lessens the impact of what happens in the movie. If it's real, it's fascinating for one reason. If it's not, it's fascinating for another. Win-win.
What I would love to see is a full length movie that focuses a bit more on the pioneers of street art using Mr. Brainwash's footage like the first half does. The nature of what these artists do means that it's very fleeting. The piece in the first picture I posted was gone in less than a week, painted over by the city of Cambridge and now lost to time, which I think is a shame, as it was certainly nicer to look at than the decaying brick wall it was painted on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_Through_the_Gift_Shop
Trailer (although this does little to explain what the movie is about) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTlm6dU2xHk
I've been a fan of Banksy's for a little while before seeing it, which was only a couple weeks ago. He was in Boston last year promoting it when it was released, and he put up these two pieces while he was in town. The first one was right outside my old office. When I saw it I thought, "Huh. Someone in town is ripping off Banksy." Only later did I learn that it was, in fact, him.
As for the film, I'm not sure what to think. There's the part of me that suspects Mr. Brainwash is bogus and it's all an elaborate prank by Banksy. Given some of the other things he's been responsible for, it wouldn't surprise me. Still, the amount of elaborate planning almost seems too much. Clearly the guy who is Mr. Brainwash has been doing his obsessive video taping for some time, before Banksy ever got started. So, Banksy would have had to encounter this guy at some point, learn about his obsessive video taping, and then convince him to pull off this over the top prank which would take years to reveal itself. Again, none of this is impossible, just implausible.
On the other hand, it's also hard to believe this guy with only a modest degree of talent has become so successful. Actually, as I write that, I realize how dumb it sounds, because people pull this off all the time. In fact, sometimes it seems like you need to be a self-aggrandizing hack in order to make it at all in any creative field. I don't think the guy is an actor, only because I know way too many people just like him. If he is an actor, than he should have won an Oscar for how convincing his performance is as an opportunistic, narcissistic wanna be. It's the most natural performance I've seen on film maybe ever.
Whether a hoax or not, I don't think it lessens the impact of what happens in the movie. If it's real, it's fascinating for one reason. If it's not, it's fascinating for another. Win-win.
What I would love to see is a full length movie that focuses a bit more on the pioneers of street art using Mr. Brainwash's footage like the first half does. The nature of what these artists do means that it's very fleeting. The piece in the first picture I posted was gone in less than a week, painted over by the city of Cambridge and now lost to time, which I think is a shame, as it was certainly nicer to look at than the decaying brick wall it was painted on.
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dave lackey
Veteran
Dang, that second one looks like someone's been reading my mail....
FrankS
Registered User
I watched it on net flix. One of the reasons I like it so much is that I don't know what to think/make of it. just as Maclaine explains. It's a very interesting film about certain aspects of the art scene.
robklurfield
eclipse
great movie, but left me with the burning question: who's conning who?
FrankS
Registered User
Exactly. I'm thinking it is a Banksy hoax/creation, and if it is, then the Mr. Brainwash acting is very good.