Exit Through the Gift Shop Exit Through the Gift Shop
Synopsis
The world's first Street Art disaster movie
Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.
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Obviously I am a few years behind on the "controversial" documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop. It has been called everything from a prankumentary (The New York Times movie reviewer Jeannette Catsoulis) to a wonderful documentary about the street art movement.
I believe it is almost fitting that the film leaves people questioning whether or not this was a hoax or a genuine effort. The world of art, regardless of the medium is always open to interpretation. I, for one, believe this was an actual documentary. I was sort of surprised after watching it this evening when I first read it was actually considered a hoax, it never once crossed my mind that this was not real, as fantastic as…
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Two of the most high profile documentaries of 2010 were films with dubious authenticity, but rather than being a criticism the genuine/hoax debate is deliberately at the centre of both Exit Through the Gift Shop and Catfish. It is hard to separate fact from fiction here, there is clearly truth amongst the fabrication but where that line really is becomes difficult to tell. What we end up with here is a docu-drama that playfully asks the question 'what is art?' in a way that will engage both detractors and supporters of both Banksy and the street art movement as a whole.
At the centre of this documentary is a charming French man, Thierry Guetta, too believable to be a creation…
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It's confounding. It's thought-provoking. It's unexpected. All the things a good documentary should be.
Makes you think about what art is; where do you draw the line between creativity and delusion? What makes art?
The documentary in itself is nothing like what I've watched before. It takes your preconceived notions and flips it on your head. Extraordinary.
I'm still blown away, speechless really.
"I think the joke is on... I don’t know who the joke is on, really. I don’t even know if there is a joke."
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A beautiful, entertaining piece of art that makes you wonder what really is art and how does one go about obtaining it.
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It's a fun concept: introduce and elucidate aspects of the street-art movement through the story of one man first tangental and later essential to understanding it.
I can't say I enjoyed the shift to documenting Thierry's art debut, though. Detouring from discussing the dynamic between art in the streets and street-art divorced and then sent to the galleries, the last third of the movie is less interesting overall. The moment Exit Through the Gift Shop turns to talking about what Baudrillard calls transaesthetics is the moment other interesting individuals drop out of the story, leaving only Thierry the hypocrite to discuss. I can see why Banksy would focus on the same processes he went through when starting his own galleries,…
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I'm more of a Blek le Rat kinda guy, but I will say this...
Exit Through the Gift Shop is Banksy and Shepard Fairey's 'Fountain', but rather than signing it 'R. Mutt' they've signed it 'Thierry Guetta'.
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Now I'm going to be obsessed with if it's real or not... either way it's fantastic, if this really happened that is amazing or if someone went through the effort of setting all of this up as a years long elaborate prank then that is amazing too. The documentary is very entertaining and real or not it delves more on the very interesting question of what is art?
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It's a fun concept: introduce and elucidate aspects of the street-art movement through the story of one man first tangental and later essential to understanding it.
I can't say I enjoyed the shift to documenting Thierry's art debut, though. Detouring from discussing the dynamic between art in the streets and street-art divorced and then sent to the galleries, the last third of the movie is less interesting overall. The moment Exit Through the Gift Shop turns to talking about what Baudrillard calls transaesthetics is the moment other interesting individuals drop out of the story, leaving only Thierry the hypocrite to discuss. I can see why Banksy would focus on the same processes he went through when starting his own galleries,…
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Interesting documentary (or mockumentary?!) about street art.
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A nice approach on the documentary. Love it.
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Directed by enigmatic Banksy, this playful and informative documentary is all about demystifying the culture of street art (graffiti). It interviews some of the biggest names of the trade, both with and without veiled identities, while attempting to cheapen the value of non-Banksy street art by calling his protege and competitors out on their lack of originality. The loose narrative follows a french bloke who eventually goes by the moniker 'Mr. Brainwash' who might or might not be part of a big joke. His story is that he has been filming everything at all times since his mother died while he was young. While entertaining, this is another of those documentaries you only need to see once. Those who appreciate street art will find the film to be more invaluable.
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A documentary within a documentary...directed by one of the subjects of the documentary. A fantastic story of someone in the right place at the right time, and a behind the scenes look at the world of art.
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An enchanting little documentary. Inspiring, too. Thank you Shaunak Kar, for your four years-old recommendation. I was an admirer of street art but now, I understand the movement and the philosophy. Awesome.
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A documentary about one man who has no understanding of originality or creative direction turning a form of art into a huge marketing cluster fuck. Tetramoose decided to show me Exit Through The Gift, one of the final films he wants to introduce me to (the next and final one is Grizzly Man, which I will watch alone). I have to say it is a very interesting yet familiar story of how the public often doesn't understand the concept of artistic direction or rather how art should have a meaning. This is street art's version of what has happened in the film, music and video game industry.
What starts as a neat story about a man who wanted to learn…
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I'm more of a Blek le Rat kinda guy, but I will say this...
Exit Through the Gift Shop is Banksy and Shepard Fairey's 'Fountain', but rather than signing it 'R. Mutt' they've signed it 'Thierry Guetta'.