Exit Through the Gift Shop

I never really understood the street art movement, nor why it had suddenly exploded in popularity when this man named Banksy suddenly started making news for his works. So I never got around to watching his film, which I thought was detailing the street art movement, despite the good reviews because I frankly wasn't that interested. However, I finally sat down to watch it, and was very pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

While Banksy directed and produced the film, most of the footage and story comes from Thierry Guetta, a most likely insane man who practically films every thing he can every moment he can. The adventure begins when Thierry discovers his cousin in France is actually the street artist Invader, who pastes blocks in the forms of different kinds of space invaders up all over the city. Thierry decides the opportunity is too good to be missed and follows Invader, filming him as he posts his art and even helping out a little. Soon enough he's being introduced to others in the field, including Shepard Fairey in L.A., who he decides to follow instead of returning to France. On the pretense of making a documentary on street art, Shepard allows Thierry to follow him around and learn the tricks of the trade. Eventually word reaches Thierry of the famous and highly anonymous Banksy. Asking everyone he could, everyone he had met, he tries to get a hold of Banksy, but to no avail. Eventually, however, Banksy calls Shepard up in need of an extra man, and Shepard gives him Thierry.

From then on, I dare not spoil what happens lest I ruin the wonderful surprises this movie holds for you. This movie is, and yet is not, a documentary about street art. Instead, it's more about the making of a documentary about street art, and the highly interesting story of Thierry and his influence on both the art and artists around him.

I couldn't help but think throughout that this movie was one big setup. That it was all a lie, a moral hidden in a fake documentary. And yet, to me it doesn't really matter if it's true or not because the story it tells is so wonderfully philosophical that the questions it raises go far beyond the need to know if it's real or not. This movie is funny, deep, a little crazy, and all sorts of fun, and it makes a subject that I really cared nothing about into one I am anxious to see the progress of.

Applause must be given to whoever sorted through the thousands upon thousands of hours of footage Thierry recorded to find the jewels they show here. I'm sure it was no meager feat, and the final product ended up looking wonderful and very well crafted. But the story they culled from it is even more impressive.

This movie surprised me in a great many ways with its humor, its style, and especially its willingness to look at the world of art in a completely new way, even to the point of questioning whether its very subject matter was art. Frankly, I was blown away, and recommend this film highly to anyone.

Exit Through the Gift Shop gets a 10/10.