Exit Through The Gift Shop

Directed by Banksy

There has been a lot of controversy over just how authentic this documentary is, but questioning its verisimilitude takes nothing away from enjoying this frequently funny and deeply bizarre film.

This project started out, apparently, as a documentary about street art and street artists, that was to be filmed by Thierry Guetta, a French ex-pat who obsessively filmed everything that happened to him and around him.  At some point, Theirry started filming his cousin, Space Invader, an early European street artist who glued up small mosaics showing Space Invaders, Q-Bert, and other 80s video game iconic images around cities.  Thierry started going out at night, filming his work, and this led him into the circle of other street artists, such as Shepard Fairey.

Thierry had wanted to meet the ultimate street artist, Banksy, and finally got his chance, being given unprecedented access to the ultra-secretive and notorious artist.  The idea was that Thierry was shooting all this footage for a documentary, but he did not have the first clue how to go about doing it.  When he finally put together a 90-minute rough cut, it was unwatchable.  Somehow, through a conversation with Banksy, Thierry got it into his head to become a street artist himself, named Mister Brainwash, who then mortgaged his home and business to construct one of the largest art shows ever.

According to the film, the show was a huge success, despite the fact that Thierry's 'art', which was almost entirely produced by assistants, is totally derivative and not terribly interesting.  And this is where we start to wonder how much of this is just a big Banksy-style put-on. The early scenes, with Thierry filming over a number of years, can not be faked (both Thierry and Shepard Fairey get visibly older), but I feel like somewhere along the way, the scheme to create this film as a big hoax was born.  Thierry has nothing to say in or about his art, yet there are thousands of people lining up to see his show.  I feel like the comment is being made that street art's moment ended the minute Banksy and others brought it into a gallery.

Regardless, this movie is a lot of fun to watch.  Thierry, if he is acting, is a gifted actor.  If he's not, then he's a mad genius.  I loved watching him stumble over descriptions of the bigger events in his life, and his clownish demeanor, with his giant sideburns and slightly goofy hats, make him an endearing figure.  This is well worth watching.