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Not since 1982's Wild Style has there been a major film concerned with graffiti art. Why is that, you may ask? Well, creating such elaborate pieces of work on city property is often considered vandalism by many authorities, which is punishable by law. But "bombing", as the artists call it, is about marking one's territory and contesting others with an artist representation of the mind; it's about communicating a social message in an attempt to gain respect on the streets. For them, it's a lifestyle.

The story tracks Anthony (Mark Webber) and his crew of taggers in New York City. We meet Anthony betwixt and between losing his brother (also a graffiti artist), and being accepted for an art scholarship at College. He spends most of his time smoking weed and running from the law, but we sympathise with him and his desire to express himself artistically. Despite nagging from his Mother (Donna Mitchell) and questions regarding his dedication to the cause from his best friend, Anthony is a likable character who gains a sense of self-fulfilment every time he uses his spray cans to paint. Questioning those who choose to showcase their work on a commercial level in art galleries, he believes the real talent stems from the streets.

Because the process of creating art -- mainly through the use of spray cans -- has to be done so quickly to avoid getting caught, the individual crews are rarely seen to be credited (or condemned) for their work. Debuting writer-director Adam Bhala Lough attempts to delve into the world of the graffiti bombers and uncover the motives for what they do in Bomb The System. It's an intriguing, underground drama as it gives an identity to the artists responsible, which goes beyond the criminal stereotype that has been portrayed in a majority of the mainstream media.

We see the evolution of graffiti into a political form when Anthony meets Alex (Jaclyn DeSantis). This direction of the film attempts to convince those previously uneducated in the graffiti world that the process isn't just an aimless act of menace, but rather an anti-authoritative statement of the underclass, whose expressions seek to inspire positive change within our society. The cinematography is impressive as it creates a grimy, '80s style Hip-Hop underworld of greys and blacks, which sets the atmosphere of the film very well; the soundtrack by indie producer El-P is also effective in this.

Through the exploration of the taggers' world, we learn of the struggles of not just an individual's desire to create art, but how hard it is to survive on the streets of New York, also. The story presents a heated conflict between a dirty cop belonging to the vandal squad (Al Sapienza) and the taggers that he believes are messing up his city. He spends his days snorting coke and drinking whisky, feeling frustrated at not being able to catch the people responsible. Although this character feels somewhat clichéd, it is interesting to also see the perspective of graffiti being an act of vandalism counterbalancing the belief that graffiti is in fact an art form. When the two sides of the argument do meet face to face, we start to realise how much of a sensitive subject it actually is.

If at times gimmicky with its editing effects, which unusually give the viewer a sense of a contemporary Trainspotting-like setting to go with the otherwise old-school feel of the film, Bomb The System is still an intriguing look at the world of the graffiti artist. It's not going to inspire everyone to give up their side of the building for a once over with the spray can, but did anyone really expect that in the first place? I didn't.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.