Exit Through The Gift Shop [DVD]

 

 

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In 1999, Thierry Guetta was a mild-mannered clothing store owner who had developed quite an obsession with filming everything in sight. He liked to do this in order to essentially validate his own existence. Transforming his life into film made him feel as if he existed, something he felt left out of as a child when he was not made aware of his mothers deadly illness until it took her life. That year marked a change in Thierry's life though. His cousin, under the pseudonym Invader, made and planted several 8-bit inspired mosaics made out of discarded Rubic's Cubes around town. One day Guetta joined him, and he never stopped filming again. For the last ten years, Guetta built up reputation amongst the street artists of the world. He was allowed to film them all at work because he claimed to be making a documentary.

The truth, however, was completely different. Guetta had hundreds upon hundreds of tapes, all tucked neatly away in giant boxes inside his garage. He never intended to make a documentary. He just wanted to feel like he was alive. Hanging out with a group of individuals who the society had labeled criminals for vandalism, running across rooftops at night and putting up posters was the best way for him to feel alive. I don't believe he would've even needed the camera any more. Guetta still had one dream though. He wanted to film the elusive street artist named Banksy in action. The two met and befriended each other, and eventually Banksy left Thierry to edit the documentary he had been telling everyone would blow their minds.

Six months later he had finished the documentary. Thierry describes his film making method to be almost like a lottery. He randomly picked out tapes from the boxes without knowing what was on them, and edited them all into an insane avant-garde epileptic seizure named Life Remote Control: The Movie. After seeing it, Banksy asked Thierry if he could get the tapes for himself so he could edit something together. Thierry agreed, and almost as a sidenote Banksy suggested Guetta should make some art of his own. And boy, he did. He sold off everything he owned in order to employ a crack team of Photoshoppers who he commanded to throw random colors and ink blots on top of known photos and art. He built massive hype around his art show, made a million dollars with unique pieces that he made spray painting prints with no purpose or artistic intentions. Then Banksy made this film, depicting everything that had happened.

Much speculation has been presented over whether or not this movie is a "hoax." Is it fake or real? I argue it doesn't matter. Exit Through the Gift Shop is a satire, regardless of whether or not the events were set up. It defies the definitions of genre with it's very existence and I dare say we may never get another film that does it quite like this. This is why I described the basic events of the film to you. You can not point a finger at this film and call it a documentary to describe it. Labeling it as a single thing is counter-productive and false, as it is more than just one thing.

At the same time Exit Through the Gift Shop is a very light watch and an extremely deep one. You can watch it, enjoy it, laugh at Thierry's tragic mania, but at the same time you're forced to do more thinking than any film about post-modern art I've ever seen. As the film revolves around not only Thierry Guetta, but also street art, one might expect it to explain this style of art. It does not. By doing so you're simply shown images of these wonderful pieces people have plastered and painted on the walls of our cities for years, and left without a set base to think about these pieces on.

The film decisively intends not to explain a single thing about the art itself, which leaves you entirely on your own to think about what art is to you. It forces you to answer not just what you think art is, but it's meaning to you and especially whether or not you believe the relationship between the piece of art and it's maker has any stake in what you think of it. Even though simplistic, the art Guetta makes is viewed as fantastic by the people who visit his show, as they do not know he really doesn't know what he is doing, why he is doing it and how to do any of it. Should we condemn him for doing this, when really most of the other original and fantastic pieces of art seen previously in the film are nothing more than similar inside jokes of sort that only work in the way intended in the heads of their makers. Is Guetta's art somehow worse just because his methods of making it seem to almost acknowledge the ridicilousness of it all? There are even more questions the film raises, but these are all questions that each of us needs time to think about. The wonder of Exit Through the Gift Shop is that it is not just a hilarious character piece; it's also the most thought-provoking film I have seen all year and the wonder of it is that I don't believe there is a single grown-up out there who can't help but ask these questions when watching this movie. It forces you to ponder on your own relationship with art, and it does it in such a subtle and entertaining way that only afterwards you truly understand that you have indeed been duped into growing as a human being through these questions. What new film has come out in the recent years that have truly not only touched you but helped and almost forced you become more as a member of the human race? Exactly.

Whether ETTGS is authentic or not is largely irrelevant. If it is, it's a great story. If it isn't, it's a work of near-genius. Either way, the same point is made: that for every clash there's an alarm. For every Motörhead there's a million t-shirts worn by folk who just like the design and don't give a trap about authenticness.

It's probably far too early to say whether Exit Through The Gift Shop [DVD] is going to end up being seen as a classic piece of documentary-making, and fair enough. I mean, who knew that This Is Spinal Tap [Single Disc Version] [DVD] would endure, and inspire decades after release? It was only a bit of fun after all. And of course still is.

ETTGS could do with more of a context though. You get some stuff about [Space] Invader, the French artist who put individual Space Invader mosaics on the walls of Paris and elsewhere (before or after Michael Diamond's X-Large knitted them onto jumpers? You tell me...) and Shepard Fairey, creator of the ubiquitous Obama 'Hope' poster. But where is the roughly contemporary Paul Insect? Or the orginator, the Model 500 of street art, Xavier Prou? The latter should have had a part in this long narrative for his Magic Juan ability to create something new, something that people on sofas on other planets in the rain would sit back and wonder: where did this power come from? In light years' time.

This film has nothing in it about whoever Banksy may be - the voice is disguised (in a quite annoying way, really) and the face is blanked (and there's no subtitle option on the DVD). If there's an authorial voice I've missed what it's saying here other than as slight sub-ironic metacommentary. But hey, I hired the film and it didn't have any promises spraypainted on the generic LoveFilm slipcase.

For the record, I know nothing about art.

I saw this last week in the cinema and am now buying the DVD. This is one of the funniest and engrossing films I have seen in a long time! Most of the cinema laughed throughout. If you are looking to learn about Banksy, there is only an introduction to his work. If you think the documentary is about him, its not. I know very little about Banksy's work, and nothing about the man himself and after watching this documentary not much has changed, although I have since bought a couple of books on the mans work.

However, Banksy has turned the art world on its head and here he does the same, he turns the camera on the film maker rather than himself. This documentary mainly covers the history of street art in LA, much of the footage filmed by Thierry Guetta over ten years, Banksy then turns the camera on Guetta as he tries to follow in the artists footsteps, creating his own stensils, spraying LA and ultimately staging his own massive exhibition, which celebrities flock to and start buying up pieces before the show opens. Banksy's work draws us into pondering deeper issues using unusual images, this documentary uses Guetta, an extremely likable and unintentionally funny Frenchman to draw us into questioning how the art word works and 'what is art?' Is Guettas art ridiculous? Why the media fanfare? Is the joke on Guetta or is the joke on us?

This is quite a smart documentary, don't expect Banksy (although he is present), expect 'a' Banksy.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Not about Banksy
The DVD is great and shows some amazing art work. It was mainly focused on "Mr Brianwash" and not Banksy. Slightly disappointed.

Published 1 month ago by Oscar P

4.0 out of 5 stars Banks DVD
Not seen it yet as bought it as a present for my daughter. Something she has wanted for ages, and hopfully will be one of her best pressies!

Published 1 month ago by Andi

5.0 out of 5 stars Ace
Great film, funny, artsy and sarcastic. being a banksy fan I was expecting something very different however I think that this has alot more content then just following the artist... Read more

Published 2 months ago by sunshineemily

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic documentary on what it is that makes art
This film begins as an investigation into street art by obsessive cameraman Terry Guetta (Mister Brainwash) - as the documentary progresses it becomes clear that it's more about... Read more

Published 2 months ago by J. Morris

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating...as in 'captivating'
For some time, I did just wonder if this was a spoof! However, research showed me that there is a MBW, that is, Mr Brainwash aka Thierry Guetta, the ostensible filmer of this... Read more

Published 2 months ago by G. D. Busby

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, very funny, yet important film. Is it real? That's part of the fun.
Funny, sharply satiric documentary about the modern art world, especially
that of the street/graffiti artists who now command hundreds of thousands
for their work... Read more

Published 4 months ago by K. Gordon

5.0 out of 5 stars BaNkSy
interesting film ,with a good story line nice to see that the man himself (if that's him,of course)is seen in the film i would recommend this movie

Published 5 months ago by AnTzZz01

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant expose
MBW shows up all those who took part in the film including Banksy .................... for all their self-hype, self-generated myth and so called anonymity it was MBW's business... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Danny der Rote

5.0 out of 5 stars You got me!
I had no idea what to expect of this film. I knew nothing about it. I've seen some of Banksy's work and I really liked it, but I'm a casual observer and certainly no expert. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Dennis

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring
A very interesting documentary film. Love the ending too, has a great twist. Wont give it away in case you have not seen it =)

Published 6 months ago by Jentia

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