Bomb the System (2002, dir. Adam Bhala Lough)

Bomb the System (2002, dir. Adam Bhala Lough)

What Is It?: A slight, over-heated melodrama about a young man -- and graffiti celebrity -- trying to decide what to do with his life.

What About It?: According to the DVD box, this is the first major fictional feature about graffiti since Wild Style in 1982. And it is about graffiti. Lough gives us a movie that feels like a primer on the underground world of taggers, and the film has a definite feel of verisimilitude to it.

Why Should I See It?: Visually, it's a lush tapestry of colors, evoking the garish, lovely tags of the graffiti artists in the film in ways that one wouldn't initially imagine. Ben Kutchins, the cinematographer comes up with fresh ideas throughout the entire film. Even if the story is hoary and more than a little lame, afterwards we were struck at how complete the world in the film felt. Though the script was not particularly programmatic, it feels like we learn quite a bit about the New York that these characters walked around in and what it was like to be them. In addition, the soundtrack by El-P was redolent and compelling without being distracting.

What Else Is It Like?: Dreams Don't Die, Style Wars, The Fast and the Furious.

When Is It Showing Until ON DEMAND?: 08/29/06

Watch It ON DEMAND on Comcast cable.

--ddt/pdx

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