Arty Amusements

Exit Through the Gift Shop was really entertaining, a funny, thought provoking documentary about urban street art. The debate about the truthiness of the film is lengthy but I'm pretty confident it's a finely worked hoax even despite Fairey's protestations - if anything the ambiguity surrounding it is a testament to the skill of whoever was involved. Made me think of Welles' tricksy film F For Fake.

If you enjoyed Exit's satirical take on the art world you might like The Horse's Mouth a bittersweet comedy starring Alec Guinness as an irascible painter driven to fulfill his artistic vision with little regard for where, when or what the cost. Guinness, who also wrote the adaptation, puts in a superlative performance as the git-sh yet loveable Jimson and he's supported with a cast of capable, familiar faces from the Ealing era. I really enjoyed it and found it strangely uplifting all in all a nice little oddity from the 50's. Might look into some of Neame's other films though I've already seen Poseidon, Jean Brodie and Odessa.