Genres

Visitors Review

blackeyedangel77 2012-05-23 06:24:18

Life is beautiful...and very, very strange

A documentary about the 'street art' scene, credited to none other thanBanksy himself, 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' serves as a sort of luridmanifesto for the underground street art movement. What begins as adocumentary about street art culture takes a surrealistic turn as theman behind the camera, French-born American Thierry Guetta, becomes thestar of the film.Obsessed with filming everything, Guetta latches onto the clandestinestreet art scene though Invader, who has gained notoriety for placingvideo game inspired tiled mosaics in cities worldwide. Guetta alsodocuments the illegal activities of Shepard Fairey, an L.A. artist whoappropriates an image of wrestler Andre The Giant as his signaturemotif. Through both Guetta is able to gain access to the elusiveBanksy, a provocateur whose work has appeared in the West Bank andSotheby's. Guetta films hundreds of hours of footage in the aim ofproducing a film but the final product is deemed to be an unwatchablemess. Banksy must have realised that the larger than life Frenchman,whose penchant for self-delusion and self-promotion, would make a moreengrossing subject than himself. Banksy takes over the project andinspires the dauntless Guetta to create his own art. He unleashes analter ego named 'Mr. Brainwash', who is a raging sensation even thoughthe art itself is gaudy and awful. The film gently mocks the cult ofcelebrity, that an artist can become bigger than the art, a phenomenoneven Banksy himself is only too aware. 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' inits own subversive and self-aware way becomes a work of art in itself. Although appearing to have been put together haphazardly, it has thefeel of something pondered over and executed with slick efficiency. Thecamera always seems to be in the right place to capture the mostbizarre moments, such as when Guetta suffers a broken foot and has tobe carried in a wheelbarrow. Guetta himself isn't just a compulsivevideographer; he owns a vintage clothing store that sellsout-of-fashion garb as 'boho chic' to a clientele of celebrities andfashionistas. The parallel seems too convenient to be a coincidence.Even the dry, whimsical narration delivered by Welsh actor Rhys Ifanfeels a bit too on the nose. Is any of it real? In the end it doesn'treally matter. While not the revealing document it promises to be, itfeatures fascinating glimpses into the street art culture. Banksyhimself appears in the film as a talking head, incognito, of course. Itis a weirdly compelling story perhaps concocted with the intention ofbeing a facetious commentary on the commoditisation of Warholian popart. Or it could be an elaborate put-on where the audience is the buttof the joke. If there's a truth to be found here, it surely liessomewhere in between.

Bill-276 2012-05-22 19:36:46

Take it at Face

Generally what makes a documentary "great" is when a director sets outto make a point and what they capture on film while making thedocumentary goes beyond their wildest expectation for furthering thatpoint. This is the case with "Exit Through the Gift Shop".Banksy's intention was to take the footage Thierry collected and make adocumentary that commented on the sudden hypocritical commercialism ofthe emerging street art scene. As Banksy and his hired staff wereputting the film together, what happens to Thierry's career as a streetartist not only validates that social commentary, it hilariously putsthe exclamation point on Banksy's intent!I would suggest to not get caught up in the "eloborate hoax"discussions on this film. They go nowhere and they're not necessary.The film stands on it's own either as a straight documentary OR as ahoax. Either way, it makes the same point. I would watch the film andtake it at face value. Mr. Brainwash, whomever that may be, is alegitimate success--whether he was originally a work of fiction or not.And therein lies Banksy's simple, hilarious and cutting point on whatis real art, and what makes a real artist.

Olaf Keller 2012-05-20 06:46:21

Thierry Guetta is Banksy

Am I the only person on entire Internet who sees that actor playedThierry Guetta is actually Banksy, and that this prankumentary is evenmore prank that we can imagine?I wouldn't be surprised if it's a "real" true, and if you know Banksy'sstreet art it is very possible that is a bottom line of this film. Ifso, this film is a piece of art itself and we can easily compare itwith Duchamp's Fountain. If not, if it's just wrong speculation, thefilm is almost perfect, but not Perfect. I hope Banksy has just pulledthe wool over our eyes.Apart of this, I would like to see all documentary tapes used in thisfilm.

2012-05-19 17:06:50

Very amusing!

This review is from: Exit Through the Gift Shop (DVD) Artists are often stumped when it comes to deciding how much to charge for their work. So much of oneself is involved in the process-- time, energy, cost of materials-- but there is the consideration of what will people be willing to pay. This movie says it all for me. It's about the big breakthrough we all dream of, the time when what we are doing will really be appreciated and the money will come rolling in. It's about sheer exuberance, the compulsiveness of creativity. And it's just plain funny. You'll love Mr. Brainwash and his graffiti artist friends. I highly recommend this movie. It's one of my favorites.

John DeSando 2012-05-13 12:53:52

Don't exit until you've seen it.

"Warhol repeated iconic images until they became meaningless, but therewas still something iconic about them. Thierry really makes themmeaningless." BanskyA short film called "Folk Art Found Me" introduced me to the colorfulworld of kitschy but lovely local art work and enhanced what I hadsuspected to be valuable expressions of non-art-school sensibility. NowExit through the Gift Shop illuminates the sometimes absurd world ofstreet art with its infamous avatars like Bansky and Thierry. Gift Shopis as good an introduction as you will find to an Andy- Warhol world ofwacko "artists" who provoke the average bloke into art rhapsody whilesuspecting the artists are phonies and we willing accomplices in thecorruption of art.Thierry Guetta is a mutton-chopped vintage clothes retailer who videosevery moment of his day and decides to document graffiti artists atwork, the apex being the elusive Bansky. But Bansky takes over theunedited ramblings and fashions a superb documentary that not onlychronicles his own late night expeditions but also the rise of Thierryto a major artist on the strength of an LA Weekly article and aspectacular "art" show.No use trying to decide for sure if Warhol-like Campbell soup cans madeinto spray containers are art at all; it's the juiced populous thatdecides by buying millions of dollars in prints and collages fromnew-artist Thierry. No use even trying to decide if it's promotion orart because it's both with a heavy emphasis on promotion.Graffiti artists Shepherd Fairey and The Invader don't exactly praiseTheirry, nor does Bansky, who ultimately says, "I used to encourageeveryone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore." Ifyou're not sure if it's art or pretense, then gently exit through thegift shop and enjoy the memory of art as an expression of . . . Oh, Idon't know either. I do know it's fun."There's no one like Thierry, even though his art looks like everyoneelse's." Bansky

JudiR 2012-05-13 00:41:31

Exit Immediately

If you want to see a film about a narcissistic madman maybe this is for you. It is jumbled, has a next to nothing story and looks like it was made with $100 with money to spare. How do other views give this a good rating? People in the Sag Harbor cinema which has a very sophisticated audience all were grumbling when they walked out.

Gil O'Brien 2012-05-13 12:12:57

You say tomato, I say tomato can of spray paint

The irony of "Exit" is that Banksy's claim that an artist needs time tohone his craft is totally debunked by his Academy Award nomination andIndie Spirit award win for his first film. Thierry has been filming allof his life and is still unable to put together a film that works.Banksy's jealousy of Mr. Brainwash's instant success is unwarranted dueto his own meteoric rise as a filmmaker.Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thierry tapped into the Warholmovement and put his own spin on it. When art and commerce meet,marketing is what prevails. As far as Warhol's influence on MBW's workis concerned, Blek le Rat influenced Banksy. The role reversal in thismovie is brilliant. Banksy proved that an artist is an artist and cantriumph in multiple art forms. And Thierry proved that his quick hitartistic approach is better suited for individual "frames" as opposedto trying to convey a story using multiple frames in succession.

2012-05-13 02:37:53

I'm captivated

This review is from: Exit Through the Gift Shop (Amazon Instant Video) Not only is this film visually appealing, but it pokes at your brain. You get immersed in the world of Street Art, while climbing into the brain of Thierry Guetta, a man who personifies the insane genius. It makes me want to cut out an over-sized stencil, buy a case of spray paint, and climb onto some buildings. It makes me want to quit my job and pursue my passions.

2012-05-10 02:35:19

Odd yet good.

I'll be brief. This movie was interesting and very engaging. I do not know whether or not it was sincere or meant as a "spoof". Either way, it's fun to watch even if you have no knowledge about street art, like myself =)

TxMike 2012-05-09 18:59:20

Street art, what is it and how can you make $$Millions?

This is a film that is hard to characterize, and one that every vieweris certain to get something different out of it. As I compose mythoughts to write these comments, I am struck by the virtual randomnessof life, at least the life of Thierry Guetta.He is a Frenchman who immigrated to the USA and with his wife and kidslives in the Los Angeles area. He has (or had??) an addiction, a videocamera. A small one, that uses small tape cassettes, and it seems hetakes it with him everywhere, filming everything. And as we find outwatching this film, most tapes were never viewed, just placed in boxes,sometimes without even the most basic information written on them toidentify the date or subject.Thierry is a man without a mission, just aimlessly filming with no endin mind.But then quite by chance gets exposed to street art, often called bythe rest of us 'graffitti', and becomes compelled to film that, thenseeking out the most famous street artists, like the Brit known as'Banksy.' Still, Thierry is aimless, while the artists think he isfilming what will become a documentary, he still is basically aimless.When he finally does put together a film, it is described as'unwatchable.' There is a highly edited 15-minute version on the DVDand yes, it is mostly unwatchable.But through all this the most amazing thing happens, Banksy suggeststhat Theirry might get into his own creation of street art, and hedoes, but he bypasses all the usual beginnings, he jumps straight to avery large, overblown art show in L.A. With no real plan, no budget, hemortgages everything and throws himself in, hiring other artists tomake his over-sized creations come to fruition, and against all oddshas a wildly successful show, expanded from a planned 5 days to 2months, and selling artwork of over $Million.So here this aimless videotaper, quite by accident gets turned towardsstreet art, and suddenly (in the truest sense of that word) becomes amodern art icon.A fascinating film, for the absurdity of it all, and being able tocatch a glimpse of this highly unlikely sequence of events over aboutan 8 year period.

runamokprods 2012-05-04 17:49:22

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 hundredsof thousands for their work. The film started out as a documentary about street artists like Banksy,being made by a very eccentric unknown amateur French film-maker,without much obvious talent. But somewhere along the way, the tablesturned, and Banksy took over and made the film about the film- maker,who himself finds success (still not showing much talent) as a streetartist. Endearingly weird, perhaps partly a set-up or a put on (who couldknow?) this is almost like an Andy Kaufman performance piece. But along with the laughs, it has something serious to say about "whatis art" and the awful interaction between art and commerce that candrain all the art from "art".

SummerLovesFilms 2012-05-04 02:01:07

Loved it!

Exit Through the Gift Shop was a little rough around the edges at firstbut the narrative is compelling and pulled me through with a beautifulmix of humour and intrigue. The way Banksey flips the focus of the filmmidway through is fresh and new and certainly something you wouldexpect from a first time filmmaker. His art is beyond reproach and histransition into film is as playful and questioning as his earlier work.I would recommend this film to anyone who loves playful characterdriven documentaries. This films gives insight into a distinct periodof art and culture that had rarely been documented and gives insightinto the human spirit. Loved it!

2012-05-03 14:52:57

downloaded it, but wanted the hard copy

Contains most of the material that made me a street art fan, packaged for the masses. Decide for yourself about Mr. Brainwash. worth the great price, since it was impossible to track down in a theater.

2012-05-03 10:59:58

not what you think

The film starts and you think it's about street art and then it is, but it goes somewhere else. And it's wonderful. The surprise. The manic behavior..The "betrayal". A look at all those art "experts". Fun.

PopcornJury 2012-04-26 06:36:54

A behind the scenes look at one of the most interesting cultural shifts to take place in the art industry -- the rise of street/pop art

I'm not going to lie. I don't know a thing about street art, graffiti,or the extremely talented artists sticking countless buildings in theLos Angeles and UK cityscapes. What I do know is that Exit Through theGift Shop is a hip, ultra modern documentary that exposes us to thesecret world of the Sheperd Fairys, the Banksys, and the AlienInvaders, arguably some of the most creative, unique, and talentedartists of the 21st century. Haven't heard of these dudes? Don't worry.Neither had I.Banksy is a British graffiti artist whose identity is to this day,unconfirmed. His pieces can be seen all over the UK where he's beenknown to break apart British telephone booths, paint elephantscompletely pink, and create stencils and illustrations that don't somuch destroy the cityscape around them, rather than enhance them.Shepard Fairey is an American artist, graphic designer, and illustratorwho's been an active graffiti artist in Los Angeles for the last tenyears.While Exit Through the Gift Shop was originally supposed to be a filmabout Banksy and Fairey, a strange thing happened. The director,Thierry Guetta, a french filmmaker who had spent the better part of hislife documenting every single minute of these two men on a camera wentfrom being the one filming to the one being filmed. His life combinednot only the secrets of the two most popular graffiti artists, but alsoa behind the scenes look at how he, Thierry Guetta, went from a father,to a filmmaker, to world-renown artists, arguably on the same scale asBanksy and Fairy, all within the course of a few short years.The film documents a ton of illegal street art activity. This isn'tonly fun to watch, it's extremely eye opening to see that this worldactually exists. There's individuals out there, running the streets at3:00 in the morning all in pursuit of a passion. On top of this, we'reexposed to a behind the scenes look at one of the most interestingcultural shifts to take place in the last century- the rise of thestreet art show and its increasing importance within the overall artindustry. We have these individuals who practically look homeless, yetthey make millions of dollars for one piece of art. It's truly a uniqueexperience that one must see to believe.Exit Through the Gift shop has received nothing but praise since itspremier at Cannes earlier this year. Much like the artists and the artit chronicles, it turns the traditional confines of an art documentarypiece into an action-oriented thrill ride that documents one of thecraziest cultural art trends taking place throughout the world. Onceyou start this film, regardless of your interest in art, I guaranteeyou won't be let down.Michael Buffa Editor, Popcorn Jury http://www.popcornjury.com

ajs-10 2012-04-25 21:28:46

Enjoyable documentary from Banksy about Thierry Guetta...

This film by street artist Banksy tells the story of Thierry Guetta. Asa young man Thierry would film anything, it was an obsession with him.He is a Frenchman who lives in L.A. and one day, on a visit to France,his cousin is making some street art. This fascinates Thierry and hebegins to follow all kinds of street artists around L.A., Paris,anywhere he can find them, cataloguing their work and even helping outfrom time to time. And as he gets more and more into it, he becomesaware of an artist called Banksy, but Banksy is very elusive.Eventually they meet and Banksy lets Thierry film him at work,something those close to him are not too happy about. He is supposed tobe making a documentary about street art, but, if the truth be known,he's just filming… There is more to tell, but I don't want to give toomuch away here.Quite a fascinating film with Thierry as the central character. He doeseventually become a street artist and more, but I'll leave you to findout how that happens (assuming you're inspired to watch the film afterreading this). The majority of the footage was shot by Thierry onvideo, which gives a kind of grainy look to it, which I like. I wasquite intrigued at the beginning and some of the art on show is quiteextraordinary, but towards the end of the film I felt it was more aboutwhat Thierry did than about the art. Having said that, as a whole Iquite enjoyed it. Banksy is from my home town so it's always good tosee a home-town boy come good. If you like street art, Banksy, or evenif you're just intrigued, it's a worth-while watch… Recommended.My Score: 7.5/10.IMDb Score: 8.1/10 (based on 15,132 votes when this review waswritten).Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96/100 (based on 101 reviews counted when thisreview was written).

2012-04-20 02:20:36

Entertaining

This review is from: Exit Through the Gift Shop (DVD) I am uncertain as to whether this documentary is fake or real, but it doesn't matter, because it COULD be real. As an art and photography fan, this fit the bill for a lazy afternoon. Of course, if you are a fan of Bansky's or street art it will have more appeal to you; but art appreciators in general will find it enjoyable. Not too long or too short.

2012-04-19 10:20:25

Sad, but true.

Before I say what bothers me, know that I do like this film, as a film. But, for what was depicted, less so. I really wanted to like this film for being about Banksy. Unfortunately, I can't because it's less about him and more about the protagonist - Thierry, AKA "Mr. Brainwash" (MBW). I've been following Banksy for some time now and his work has inspired me and my craft. I'm not a "street artists", but I am a designer where the craft of making and the process of creation are much the same. So, looking at this movie from that standpoint upset me a little with the conclusion of the film. Infused with hype and a poor sense of direction, Thierry gets a push to hold an art exhibit of his work. Using connections through his friends (Banksy & Sheppard Fairey), they provided enough hype for MBW to get a lot of local media attention that made Thierry an overnight celebrity.I didn't have an issue with the hype that was gained, however, I did have an issue with how it was gained and the art that was produced. As an artist, MBW lacked knowledge, understanding, meaning, and integrity. He made pieces just for the sake of making pieces to fill his show. He simply copied ideas he liked from other artists and put minor tweaks to them and called them his own without understanding why the work he copied was made, or what it represented to begin with. Banksy even makes mention of Thierry's lack of craft and expresses disdain for making his images "even more meaningless" than Andy Warhol's, but validates Warhol's work by explaining how he did it in an iconic way, whereas Thierry, he explains, simply made them meaningless.Once MBW's show got bigger than even Banksy and Sheppard Fairey anticipated, they were less enthusiastic about what was put out and further expressed how prematurely his work had been released for a scale of its size. Before moving into the final act, MBW goes on to explain why he calls himself "Mr Brainwash". I felt bad, but I couldn't help but laugh when I heard just how little he truly knew about concepts and the creative process. It's challenging, in the beginning, as a creator, learning who you are and what your style is, but MBW, with a show of that scale, was consciously or unconsciously making a claim as a full fledged "artist", so hearing his lack of understanding simply unveiled more flaws in his body of work. Maybe, to many, it won't be so evident, but any artist or enthusiast would be able to see through his facade with this documentary. What saddens me more is that had I been at the show, I too would have loved the work - at face value. But, after watching this film, his work comes across trite knowing his foundation was unsettled.It's true that anything can be art and anyone can create it, but when you use the iconography of others for buzz to boost your overnight claim to fame, you end up falling short to those that do it for the enjoyment of expression and for helping others (non artists especially) understand why there's a passion to create it.

Jim 2012-04-18 02:18:42

wonderful discussion of modern art

i dont know if the movie is a fake documentary or not, but i loved it...laugh out loud good , if you have any interest in contemporary art, dont miss it

2012-04-17 14:32:18

Blurring the line between artist and subject, truth and fiction

SPOILERS****1/2"Exit Through the Gift Shop" is a documentary about a documentarian, a film about filming. At times, it's hard even to tell who's the subject of the film and who's the creator. At some point in the movie, the street artist and the filmmaker switch roles, with the street artist becoming the filmmaker and the filmmaker becoming the street artist. It's all very mind-blowing and Pirandellian, to say the least, but it sure makes for one hell of a clever and fascinating film. A bit too clever, perhaps, for there are those who've accused the film of being a hoax, of being just an elaborate work of "street art" in its own right. Thierry Guetta is a French émigré living in Los Angeles who has apparently recorded virtually every single moment of his adult life on videotape and film. A few years into this obsession, Thierry began filming a number of underground "street artists" from various cities, as, under the cloak of darkness, they secretly created their works. These included such well-known figures as Shepherd Fairey (he of the ubiquitous Obama poster) and Bansky, a British artist who had already established quite a reputation for himself in London. But not only did Thierry film them doing their art, he frequently joined them in the process, often at great risk to his own freedom and safety. It is with Bansky that the movie begins to get truly mind-bending and complicated, for it is he who directed "Exit Through the Gift Shop," not Thierry, yet he uses Thierry's footage. So who is the actual maker of the film? Who can say? And what does that say about the fluidity of the creative process? About blurring the line between art and its subject? (To hide his identity, Bansky appears only in silhouette as he films himself giving interviews for the audience). Then about halfway through the movie, we discover that Thierry has become a street artist (going by the appellation Mr. Brainwash) himself, sponsoring elaborate gallery shows displaying his own work.And as Thierry begins to achieve fame, fortune and international acclaim as the "new Wharhol," we can't help noting the irony that an art form that originally sprang up as a subversive reaction against the Establishment has now gone full-board mainstream itself, earning millions for its pieces and high-profile celebrity for its artists. No more furtive forays into the dead-of-night for this dude at least.If you're confused by all this, don't worry. Even after seeing the film, I still cannot say I understand everything that takes place within it. But that's just what makes "Exit Through the Gift Shop" such a unique and trippy experience. And besides, it offers a rare glimpse into a scene few of us have any real familiarity with, so whether the thing is real or fake doesn't really matter all that much in the end. The "experience" is what counts with "Exit Through the Gift Shop," and that, I guarantee you, will be unforgettable.