Grey City

The titular city is Brazil's São Paulo, and a stunning opening shot confirms the accompanying adjective: from a distance, São Paulo appears to be a stunningly dismal collection of towering grey buildings. At street level, however, a number of graffiti artists have added provocatively colorful works of art to the city's blank walls. While some of these artists have enjoyed international renown (with works in the collections of prestigious museums), the municipal authorities vigorously if also erratically implement the local Cidade Limpa (clean city law) to “combat visual pollution”—painting over works deemed aesthetically unpleasing, while other graffiti murals that meet bureaucratic approval are allowed to remain. Directors Marcelo Mesquita and Guilherme Valiengo offer an interesting consideration of the blurred lines regarding what can be defined as street art and what should be dismissed as vandalism. Well-known Brazilian artists including Os Gêmeos, Nina Pandolfo, and Nunca speak with great passion about their work, but the film also presents the bureaucratic response to the graffiti in a fair and mature manner that is often lacking in similarly-themed documentaries. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)