Exit Through the Gift Shop

Rating: *****

So far as movies go, Exit Through the Gift Shop is pretty darn close to perfection. Sure there’s the *wink*wink* maybe it isn’t entirely non-fictional debate, or the postulating that thing is really an elaborate prank on the part of British street artist Banksy on the art world, but sometimes, when you have this good a time at the movies, you don’t ask questions. Is Exit a phoney? A great big phoney? I don’t know, but I got my fingers crossed under the truth is stranger than fiction clause.

What really matters is that Exit Through the Gift Shop is as funny as a movie about graffiti, self-promotion and the perils of inspiration can get. The film, while being shot by French transplant to Los Angeles Thierry Guetta, was edited by Banksy himself. If the name Banksy sounds familiar, it may be because he’s one of the world’s most well known street artists. He’s the guy that replaced Elizabeth II with Diana Princess of Wales on several 10£ notes. He also graffitied the wall dividing Israel and the West Bank. In other words, he’s not like one of the kids that spray paints his initials on the side of the corner store last night.

The thing about Exit is that Thierry had tremendous access to some of the greats that lead the movement to legitimize street art since the turn of the century. It was kismet after all seeing as how his cousin is the infamous Space Invader. In L.A., through his cousin Invader, Thierry was introduced to Shepard Fairey. Fairey’s most recent claim to fame was that he was the designer who came up with the iconic red and blue image of President Barack Obama back when he was just candidate Obama. Prior to that though Fairey was known for the omnipresent caricature of Andre the Giant with the word ‘Obey’ underneath it.

Eventually, Thierry was introduced to the man himself – Banksey – which if you’re making a documentary about street art is like getting the Master Leonardo in your doc about Renaissance art. What nobody knew at the time though, was despite the fact Thierry was getting all this remarkable, historic footage, he was just sticking the tapes in one of numerous plastic totes and never looking at the results of all those nights on the streets of L.A., Paris, and London, filming street art.

Banksy was kind enough to share some of Thierry’s eventually edited film in Exit and let’s just say that it was a work of such sensory overload that it would have made Noriega surrender. Still, this is where seeds of doubt start to grow: was Thierry, despite his passion and enthusiasm, really this inept?

What happens next is almost beyond belief as Thierry pursues his own street art under the nom de plume Mr. Brainwash (or MBW if you like). But Thierry gets bored with the dull, hard work of building a street rep and fast forwards to putting together a gallery show that would convert the old CBS Studios in the greatest schmorgesborg of pop art the scene has ever known. Does it work? Why spoil the whole movie?

The focus of the film is on this man who goes from zero to art world phenomenon and he basically falls bass ackwards in order to do it. One can read some inherent criticisms of the mainstream art world and the group-think manner in which it decides what’s now and what’s important, and how Thierry became a dupe or an accomplice in this process. Whether or not Thierry is a performance art piece by the man behind the curtain (and the movie) doesn’t matter because the message is the same. Banksy himself just seems amused.

If nothing else, you can read Exit Through the Gift Shop as another inspirational tale of pursuing your love of art and doing so in complete disregard of legitimacy, legalities, or even talent and insight. The point is to create, and maybe to take care with whom you give inspiration. As for the movie itself, if all you take away from it is a good time, then the rest doesn’t matter. At least that’s the Thierry philosophy as far as can gleam it.

Hot Docs - The Devil Operation

Rating: ****

The David Vs Goliath trope is not a new one to documentaries. In many ways, it’s one of the most often told stories as an individual or small group struggle against a large, monolithic force, usually a corporation or government agency. In these movies, dastardly deeds are being done by the seemingly unstoppable bureaucratic force, but a small, dedicated group of resisters are (usually) able to turn the tables and make their world a better place. Sometimes the road is rocky and the enemy a little more sly than our heroes would like, but good guys win and bad guys lose. Mostly.

In the case of The Devil Operation, the “David” is a small group of farmers and activists in Peru are the thorn in the side of Newmont, a U.S. mining company. At the base of Newmont’s largest mining operation in South America, the people are protesting the laissez-faire manner in which the company is getting the gold. In complete indifference to the environment, farm land and the health and safety of the indigenous people, Newmont’s all about the bling-bling. But the protestors enjoy success, though granted it’s through both violent and non-violent action. But what does the company do when it’s fed up?

Well, if you’re Newmont, you mount a massive, Mission: Impossible-like operation to spy on and just generally harass those that are fighting against the mine operation. Father Marco Arana, a man so renowned for this dedication to eco-activism that he was named a Hero of the Environment in 2009 by TIME Magazine, leads the more diplomatic wing of the protest, and for his effort, he is given a highly provocative name by Newmont’s spies: “The Devil”. From lawyers to the simple farmers that just want to protect their lands, each of them is treated as if their part of an organized crime operation with Newmont’s P.I.s acting like pit bull F.B.I.

Director Stephanie Boyd followed Father Marco and the other protestors for 10 years (but not in the way that Newmont was following them). Like some kind of thriller in the vain of The Firm or North By Northeast, Boyd collects stories from the people fighting the mine and learns about the harassment and scare tactics used against them by Newmont. In a mixture of astounding disbelief and hypnotic attentiveness, you watch some of the most obsessive acts of greed ever put to film. Even Scrooge McDuck would look at this mess and shake his head in disgust. I’ve spent a lot of time with community activists, many of them are good natured people that care deeply about the issues they’re passionate about, and trying to imagine people dumping this kind of time, effort and energy into dissuading them does nothing but boggle the mind.

Still, there was something extremely affirming about seeing these people persevere in the face of such staunch and all-encompassing opposition. Newmont is an ideal villain because their tactics are so distasteful and their goals – digging all the gold out of a mountain – are less than altruistic. Boyd marvellously captures the tension and suspense thanks to remarkable access and a fearlessness in pursuit of the story. This is documentary filmmaking at some of its finest: competently made with style and precision and with a direct narrative point of view. Compelling and engaging, The Devil Operation shows that the little people still have power no matter what’s thrown at them.

Hot Docs - War Games and The Man Who Stopped Them

Rating: ***1/2

A lot of people get the lion’s share of the credit for ending the Cold War: Ronald Regan, Mikhail Gorbachev, even Ronald McDonald. But what about Colonel Ryszard Kuklinsk? Who? you're asking. Kuklinsk was a high ranking officer in the Polish army, one of their best actually with dozens of citations to his name. But he was also a traitor. To some people anyway, nearly as many think he’s a national hero that laid aside nationalism for the sake of not just the free world, but for the entirety of mankind as well. War Games and the Man Who Stopped Them is Kuklinsk’s story, one that unfortunately he didn’t get a chance to contribute too.

No, that’s not foreshadowing of a sinister end to Kuklinsk, but that wasn’t altogether certain considering that one night in 1981 when he and his family had to flee Warsaw for fear of him being discovered as an American spy. Kuklinsk was a decorated officer and pride of the Polish military, but he was a humanist too. Upon seeing the Warsaw Pact plans in anticipation for an invasion of Western Europe, up to and including the use of the nuclear option, Kuklinsk said to himself that enough was enough. He turned spy for the Americans and over several years provided valuable intelligence that might have hastened the collapse of the Soviet block.

A combination of memoir, docudrama and spy thriller, War Games chronicles Kuklinsk’s nearly decade long service as a double agent, his tragic retirement in Florida and his eventful return to Warsaw that where people came out to welcome him and lynch him in equal measure. It’s a weird, wild story that spans across the worlds of international espionage and family heartbreak. Director Dariusz Jabłoński gives the film both a personal touch and a journalistic distance. That’s not an easy task, but Jabłoński’s personal relationship with Kuklinsk before his death is tempered by the fact that the man’s death offers some remoteness to the subject material.

Treading in the grey waters of international intelligence gathering, there’s plenty to get the paranoid-turned mind going with visits to facilities and ceremonies so secret that there’s no filming allowed lest there be exposure for the active C.I.A. agents inside. Not that this is some James Bond action piece, this is the real nuts and bolts of spy work in all its unglamorous glory. But this is a story about a man who was accidentally a spy, a man struck by conscience and with the courage and guile to accept that his actions may have led to no happy ending for himself. Terse and mechanical, yet still loving and personal, War Games is a great tribute to not just Kuklinsk, but to unsung heroes that influence events bigger than themselves all the time.

Hot Docs - Congo in Four Acts

Rating: ****

Events in Congo don’t make the news a lot, but it’s one of the most unstable areas in Africa and that’s really saying something. This is where the documentary works really good, highlighting the people, stories and aspects of current events that don’t typically get covered in the nightly news. What makes Congo in Four Acts even more interesting is that it’s four short documentaries directed by filmmakers from The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). From the impoverished streets to the overworked civil servants, a very fascinating light is shed on this country by the people who know it best.

The project began as an educational experience for its filmmakers: Dieudo Hamadi, Divita Wa Lusala and Kiripi Katembo Siku. The result was a refreshingly honest and direct look the people and problems of Congo, representing four very diverse subject matters. In Ladies in Waiting the bureaucratic nightmare that is a struggling maternity ward is examined. Symphony is an eye-opening, first-person look at the slums of Kinshasa. Zero Tolerance is an almost COPS-like vignette about justice and sexual violence in the eastern DRC. Then, to finish, there’s Mine, which is about young children that break rocks for pennies.

Each of these films offers a unique insight into several areas of life in the Congo. It’s hard to pick a single segment that has more of an impact than the others, but those versed on the issues will certainly come to appreciate Zero Tolerance. Rape has been used as a weapon with alarming frequency in the Congo, but seeing the sight of young men under the age of 13 being brought in to the police charged with sexual assault is fairly haunting. Combined with the matter of fact manner in which these boys are brought in to elocute their crimes with the parents trying to make excuses for them, and you’ve got a really bleak picture of human rights in the Congo.

By comparison, Ladies in Waiting, Symphony and Mine aren’t nearly as sensational, but they are still very powerful. These three highlight tremendously the struggles with poverty and status in the Congo. Mine shows a mother and child breaking rocks for hours in order to make the equivalent of a quarter for all that hard labour. The barter system is taken to the extreme in the maternity ward featured in Ladies in Waiting where treatment continues only if the women or a family member is able to provide a significant item for collateral. Both of those shorts are vastly different in opposition to the starkly silent Symphony, as the only sound comes from life on a crowded, filthy street in the city of Kinshasa that’s just miles from a more affluent area.

There’s a looking glass factor to Congo in Four Acts where in we’re given these brief though potent little insights into life in the DRC. We see what life is like in this place but we’re not given either context or commentary. The filmmaking style is very visceral and immediate, almost the roughest, greatest intention of the documentary art form. Basically, these are stories and insights that could only be gotten by people living in this place, at this time. Fascinating and enlightening, Congo in Four Acts is a must see for anyone interested in issues and Africa.

Hot Docs - How I Filmed the War

Rating: ***1/2

Geoffrey H. Malins is probably one of the most influential filmmakers you’ve never heard of. His 1916 documentary, The Battle of the Somme, represented a great leap forward in the areas of filmmaking, war photography, reporting and, indeed, propaganda. But let that last one not diminish the impact that this film had when it was first released, or its historical significance nearly 100 years after the fact. Canadian filmmaker Yuval Sagiv has now revisited this documentary in a highly unusual way by exploring the blurring of the line between truth and propaganda while digging into Malins’ own conflicted background.

First of all, the movie is silent. The only sound is clacks and scratches of the old film, which is intercut with title cards containing bits of narrative or dialogue, like the films of the silent movie era in which The Battle of the Somme was released. The title cards are a mix of filmmaker researched information about Malins and the film, or excerpts from Malins book about the filming of the documentary and being the “Official Kinematographer” of the British forces on the front lines of the Great War. The conceit is pretty effective where in this new documentary feels like itself is a relic. It’s like someone put a disc of James Frey’s mea culpa interview with Oprah in the back of copies of A Million Little Pieces.

Honestly, it should come as no surprise that Malins staged some parts of his film to make it look more action-oriented then would have been possible in a way that wouldn’t get the cameraman shot in 1916. If that’s surprising it’s only because we expect people in the past to be more honest, or that the technology was so new, we think it had never occurred to anyone to exploit it. Or does anyone care? It’s common knowledge now that the picture of the American flag being raised over Iwo Jima was staged yet that doesn’t seem to rob the image of its power as a symbol. You still see it on motivational posters to this day after all. Even Sagiv seems to treat it as an afterthought as the famous charge “over the top” as a fake is only examined near the film’s end.

The really interesting parts of the documentary involve how Malins cut through the typical propaganda of the time by projecting a lot of realism in his work, as well as the sorted story of Malins himself. Malins, like Frey, seemed to play fast and loose with his origins, but fortunately for the filmmaker this was easier to get away with before the invention of the internet and Google. Still, the “spotty” history of Malins does nothing to belie this work he created. A work that, for its time, startlingly captured the horrors of the war front in an era where war was still romanticized. Trench life, in all its grime, was shown in a way that a lot of the era’s recruiting material tried to ignore. Despite Malins’ sleight of hand and the officials of the times’ editorial pruning in the interest of morale, the refreshing honesty of The Battle of the Somme still resonates a century later.

As for the film about the film, there’s an experimental quality that can, at times, be distracting. It’s seems as if Sagiv has created a director’s commentary for a silent film done in the style of that film’s original release, which creates an odd, post-modern twist in the way How I Filmed the War can be viewed. There are occasions when I think the art draws too much attention to itself, but Sagiv’s format is refreshing at the very least. But as well done as this film is in the way Sagiv made it, I would still love to see something with a little more analysis and distance; a true consideration of The Battle of the Somme and its impact on filmmaking. Perhaps Sagiv can next break new ground with a documentary sequel or remake.

Iron Man 2

Rating: ***1/2

Oh hype. Bringer of expectations, destroyer of dreams, you certainly know how to jerk our collective chains and make us expect the impossible. Realistically, no movie could live up to the economic and critical expectations that are those now owned by the superhero sequel Iron Man 2. The tremendous success of the first Iron Man movie was completely out of left field given the fact that the billionaire in the high tech suit of armour didn’t quite have the name cache of Marvel Universe compatriots like the X-Men or Spider-Man. But casting Robert Downey Jr as the titular hero and hiring so-called serious actors like Terrance Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Beau Bridges cultivated a rare attitude towards summer blockbusters: that this was something that might be able to be enjoyed on an intellectual level as well as visceral one.

Indeed the whiz bang of Iron Man 1 was its weakest link with everyone noting the power of the acting, character development and storytelling over the special effects and action sequences. But naturally, the only thing in Hollywood better than success is even greater success. And just like that, the expectations for Iron Man 2 are as high as anything called Harry Potter, Star Wars or Twilight. Which is why it’s so frustrating to say that this movie misses the mark, although it should be noted that it doesn’t miss it by much.

But frankly, this Iron Man is packed. Not only is Tony Stark (as portrayed once again by Downey) struggling with his very public dual identity, but he’s also struggling with his mortality as the very same technology that’s keeping him alive is also killing him. Aside from the personal, Stark must contend with a government that wants his suit and a rival that wants his life, only to get gobsmacked by a new villain with a claim on Stark’s technology and a deadly grudge that needs indulging.

This might be problematic if not for director Jon Favreau’s penchant for casting. Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke share co-villain credit as Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko respectively. Hammer is Stark’s closest rival and trades between hating Stark for his genius and charisma and admiring him like a younger brother. Vanko, who’s a conglomeration of two Iron Man comic villains, is a man on a mission of vengeance, and Rourke has the right menacing presence to make Vanko a formidable foe for Stark. The other new character is Scarlett Johansson as Iron Man’s fellow superhero (and possible future Avenger) the Black Widow. Predominately it seems that Johansson’s responsibility for the film is to look sexy and kick butt, and by this basis she succeeds beyond expectations.

Still, the appearance of Black Widow and the expanded role of Samuel L. Jackson as Gen. Nick Fury tips a potentially fatal flaw in the film in that there are times when this Iron Man movie seems to be more about being a “backdoor pilot” to the upcoming Avengers movie. The so-called Easter Eggs are kind of glaring in their obviousness in that there might as well be Post-Its on screen referencing why this item is important. Like the old Pop-Up Video show. There’s a section in the middle where Stark is given a time out by Fury that seems like a tacked on tease for The Avengers and it kind of takes you out of the movie, which already has a lot of complex plotlines going on, aside from setting up more movies.

When not bogged down with foreshadowing, Favreau does well picking up where he left off so far as the main characters and their relationships. Don Cheadle seems more comfortable playing Stark BFF Col. Jim Rhodes than Terrence Howard did in part one, but despite being upgraded to fellow iron man War Machine, it seems that Rhodes’ role is still kind of diminished. Downey still plays a mean Tony Stark, but there was a kind of sense that he was reaching a bit too hard. Like Johnny Depp in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Downey was trying force himself to play Stark rather than just play him. Still, Stark is one of the most dynamic and relatable superheroes ever put to film.

Despite these sophomore hiccups, the Iron Man franchise is still remarkably satisfying as a popcorn movie and as a dramatic work. Favreau’s emphasis on character continues to pay off and the director even gives himself a chance to play in this one with an expanded part for his Happy Hogan, Stark’s bodyguard. In one way, it reminded me of The Dark Knight for the way it crammed so much in to the story, leaving the viewer wondering what possible direction the filmmakers can take the character in next. I mean that on an individual basis in Iron Man 3 of course. We all know that Stark’s got a big meeting with his super friends in the future.

Hot Docs - The Parking Lot Movie

Rating: ****

Remember Clerks? It was Kevin Smith’s breakthrough first film about directionless slackers working the cash register at a convenience and video store in the middle of nowhere, New Jersey. One can find an easy allegory on the surface of The Parking Lot Movie, a documentary chronicling the self-styled bohemians that attend a parking lot in Charlottesville, VA. But these are no mere slackers that take your money and watch your car between – how did the synopsis put it – long periods of tedium, punctuated by swearing back at irate customers. But this isn’t a movie about the tedium of doing menial labour, but about fraternity, capitalism, the class struggle and knowing the value of having somewhere to consider the zen in life.

Chris Farina has owned the Corner Parking Lot in Charlottesville for over 10 years. Sandwiched between the vibrant downtown bar scene and the campus of the University of Virginia, business is rarely slow for Farina and his dedicated group of employees. Now, one might think that working at a parking lot would be dull and socially dilapidating, but actually working for the Corner Parking Lot is one of the coolest jobs to have. An assorted bric-a-brac of undergraduate and graduate students man the main gates between classes. They’re philosophers, musicians, artists, and intellectuals Just don’t mess with them or try to do the parking equivalent of the dine and dash, because they will find you.

The Parking Lot Movie is bizarrely captivating; a film that should be as dull as rye bread but is profoundly watchable. The characters you meet are your typical, college-aged hipsters that revel in how much smarter they are then you, but if that sounds like your crew, then you’ve found kindred spirits. But really, these are good-natured guys working a job they like and sometimes, without realizing it, it affects them in profound ways. But it’s a parking lot, you’re saying right now. To which I respond by saying that you kind of have to see it to get it.

There are a couple of levels to this movie that make it so immensely enjoyable. First are the personalities. The various attendants profiled are all insightful and interesting young men with good heads on their shoulders. It sounds trite to say (not to mention ridiculous given the job description), but this is more than work for them. Former clerks can appreciate, and perhaps be envious of, the no B.S. way that these attendants handle their business. (No, the customer isn’t always right.) And though it may seem far-fetched to the average viewer to think that one would get so obsessed that you’d run down someone that parks and runs, the primitive mind of a present or former clerk knows too well the impulse of not letting that kind of person get away.

Secondly, there’s the sociological subtext. While not explicit, there is in the film a kind of commentary about cars and the entitlement of the people that own them. As well, this corner parking lot is a front line of the class war, as people look down their nose at these attendants without knowing, or caring, that some these guys are academic superstars in their off hours. The film was shot over three years, and the coda at the end reveals that many of the attendants have gone on to being professors and researchers at various institutions of higher learning. It’s one of those quiet victories that makes the worst times worthwhile. Still, it’s not like the job at the parking lot itself is terrible.

Interestingly, I think Parking Lot Movie would make for a good double bill with another Hot Docs film called A Different Path. The latter is about the positive side of going car-free while the former is about the negative side of drivers and the car culture that people behind the wheel overlook, or simply never see. On its own though, Parking Lot Movie is terribly life-affirming and proves that even the most tedious jobs have in them some pearls of wisdom that can lead you to live a happier, healthier life. But you have to know someone if you want a job there.