Saving Banksy

Filmmaker Colin M. Day's documentary follows the efforts of Brian Greif, a local TV executive and passionate devotee of street art, to not only preserve one of the large murals that anonymous British provocateur Banksy surreptitiously plastered on building walls during a 2010 visit to San Francisco, but also to find a permanent home for it in a museum. The object of Greif's obsession is “Haight Street Rat,” which depicted one of Banksy's signature rodents, wearing a Che Guevara hat and holding a can of spray paint. Situated on the wooden wall of a Victorian hotel, the piece would ordinarily have been quickly painted over by city crews in accordance with municipal policies on unauthorized graffiti. Part of Day's fast-paced film features Greif's recollections of his negotiations with the building owner, which ultimately resulted in permission for him to remove the mural piece by piece and store it in his apartment closet. It then documents his frustration in trying to find a museum willing to accept the mural for public display, followed by a purchase offer from Stephan Keszler, a dealer who has built a thriving business taking down street art and selling it to collectors at high prices. Punctuating the story are interviews with other noted graffiti artists—including Ben Eine, RISK, and Anthony Lister—who offer stinging opinions of Keszler and other profiteers, but also question the propriety of attempts to preserve intentionally ephemeral art. Saving Banksy tells an engaging personal story while also raising major issues about the contemporary art trade. Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)