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Graffito
USA 2014
produced by
David A. Holcombe, Heather Mingo, Nick Reise, John Sutton for Soft Cage Films
directed by David A. Holcombe
starring Antonio Brunetti, Michelle M Oliver, Kristen T King, Brittany Ellis, Natalie DiCristofano, J. Keegan Siebken, Emma Peterson, Adam Shalzi, Carl Wisniewski, Jordan Hoisington, David Steiger, Andrew Taylor, Jill Oliver, Meghan Lewis, Heather Mingo, Nicole Wiesner, Tyler Ravelson, Kashuna Holmes, Michael Garvey, Raymond Sofia, Pirates!!!, Ian Smith, John Sutton, Matt Miles
written by Heather Mingo, John Sutton, music by John Sutton, Pirates!!!
review by
Mike Haberfelner
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Graffito (Antonio Brunetti) sees himself as one of the last true
artists fighting the establishment and thus capitalism as such, in a time
when art has long become a commodity, being artistic an empty attitude of
the wealthy, and the smartphone the center of all things anyways. Graffito
doesn't own a smartphone ... or money to begin with, and his art isn't for
sale but the in a way most accessible and democratic of all artforms:
graffiti. But of course, as a graffiti artist, he's constantly on the run
from the law, and he as even got a weird vigilante (David Steiger) on his
tail, a wallpainter who covers his graffiti in plain white - which
curiously enough is as lawless as what Graffito does ... However, with
Graffito not earning a dime from art (nor anything else), he is eventually
evicted from his apartment ... upon which he loses it and kills his
landlady (Kristen T King). Later though he thinks he sees her in the
streets, and following her he bumps into Lorelei (Michelle M Oliver), and
it's love at first sight, not only is she beautiful and totally receptive
to his very special charm, she also loves his art, is an artist herself in
a category comparable to his: She takes polaroids. Thing is, once
Graffito has fallen in love, that seriously affects his art, and his edge
is gone - much to the dismay of the filmmakers, as it's only now revealed
(despite hints like clearly visible crewmembers and booms hanging into the
picture throughout) that Graffito's story is only a film within a film,
and the framing film being a mockumentary. But now that Graffito has lost
his focus, this can only lead to utter disaster ... Graffito
is an extremely interesting and very unusual little movie, as it takes its
influences from pretty much everywhere, from nouvelle vague and Andy
Warhol's Factory movies, to modern mockumentaries and social
satire, with several nods to genre cinema. And the whole thing, erratic as
it might be, works beautifully, as it's held together by a slightly ironic
(but never moronic) approach, subtle but beautiful camerawork, and
intentionally eccentric pacing. Really, an extremely interesting piece
of cinema, well worth checking out!
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find Graffito at adultvideouniverse.com
