Review: Exit Through The Gift Shop

Ever met someone who films what seems to be every moment of every little occasion? Maybe you had one of those dads that was there with his video camera for every birthday party, every Christmas, every moment of your family vacation. Hard to believe they want to record that much, right?


Well, they've got nothing on a man named Thierry Guetta. A Frenchman who migrated to the states in 1980s, Guetta became infamous by everyone he knew (and didn't know) for shooting every second of his life with a video camera. And why I say every second, I mean every second.




Guetta even filmed himself peeing at a urinal and washing his hands afterwards. The guy has filmed it all.
The new documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop opens with a mysterious man by the name of Banksy telling his fascination with this man and his desire to record every waking minute of his life.

Originally, Gift Shop was a documentary by Guetta himself. In recording his whole life, he stumbled upon the world of street art-a new counter-culture movement that involves everything from hand-made tiles of "Space Invaders" being put up on bridges to stencil graffiti art with a political message.  Guetta first started following a French artist named simply "Invader" who was infamous for his Space Invader tiles, then moved up from there, meeting such street artist legends as Shepard Fairey, who began a movement of sorts with his portrait of Andre The Giant with "OBEY" underneath.

From there, Guetta's interest only grew. Then he heard tale of a man known as Banksy, who is in many ways the greatest and most revolutionary street artist ever. Guetta became fascinated by Banksy, who works in complete secrecy, using his pseudonym, masking his face, and staying out of the public eye. This didn't stop Guetta, who constantly tried to find a way to contact Banksy.

One of Banksy's works

Banksy finally agreed to allow Guetta, and even tag along with him on his artistic endeavors. In the process, he himself became fascinated with Guetta, and his yearnings to learn about street art and film everything he saw. In doing so, Banksy took control of the film and produced it so it was more about Guetta than himself.

Both Guetta and Banksy give interview testimonies to their adventures (Bansky under protection of a hooded face and computer-adjust voice), painting the picture of Guetta's growing love for street artists and Banksy's fascinating work.

And the adventures are a blast to watch-they're funny, they're exciting, they're eye opening. Having only really heard the name "Banksy" float around before I saw the film, I walked out with an enormous appreciation for street art. The film's style was familiar yet unique, offering a fun spin on the documentary style. 

I'm already wanting to see the film again, much like a thrilling action movie or particularly funny movie entertains you to the point you plan to see it again.

Bottom line: If you're a fan of documentaries or street art, if you want to see a unique film, or even if you're looking for a film that's funny, informative, and exciting all at the same time, you can't miss this.

Grade: A