John DeSando

25 May 2012

Dont exit until youve 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

Michael McGonigle

24 May 2012

This Is Either The Most Believable Mockumentary In Film History, Or The Most Disingenuous Documentary.

This is a film where the less you know about it beforehand, the better.Directed by the mysterious street artist Banksy, the ostensible storyfollows a French immigrant to Los Angeles named Thierry Guetta who madehis living operating a second hand clothing shop.As a hobby, Guetta began videotaping the nighttime antics of variouslocal street artists like Shepard Fairey (who created the famous HOPEposter of Barack Obama) as they plastered their guerrilla art on emptybillboards, highway overpasses and the blank sides of buildings oftentimes just a few steps ahead of the vigilant, but unappreciative L.A.police department.Virtually any street artist who was anyone, including the elusiveBanksy, sooner or later got videotaped by Guetta, which led to hundredsof hours of raw footage being stored in unmarked boxes that no onewould ever see. Like a collection of dictionaries on a shelf, while they may have allthe words necessary to tell a great story, until someone did the actualwork of putting them into a coherent order, there would be no way toseparate the signal from the noise.Several attempts to bring order to this chaos were less thansuccessful, finally, Thierry Guetta got tired of just documenting thesestreet artists, hey, if they could be artists by just doing it, socould he. So, blatantly stealing these street artists style, methodsand madness, Thierry Guetta declared himself an artist and began tocreate work on his own. Yes, just like that.Exit Through The Gift Shop finally takes us to the madcap opening ofThierry Guetta's first one-man show in a gallery created from an unusedTV Studio. It is a huge success and becomes the "happening" place to beseen for a while. In fact, Thierry Guetta has probably made more moneyand generated more press than some of the street artists he used tofilm and who are still on the streets as it were, much to theirannoyance.Exit Through The Gift Shop is a thrilling and original film that grabsyou from the first and won't let go; the only problem with all of thisis it may just be a prank. The clues to that are the fact that Banksy, the nominal director is anotorious prankster and not too many people seemed to have heard aboutthis Thierry Guetta until this film was made. One other thing, actor Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, Greenberg, PirateRadio) provides the narration for the film and unless I am verymistaken, also seems to be the disguised voice of Banksy, who we seeinterviewed in heavy silhouette to hide his face. It also seems oddthat all of this could have been happening in the very public L.A. artcommunity without more people on the outside hearing about it. Either way, this is a fast paced and exciting film that will tickleyou, astound you and fascinate you, even if you know nothing aboutstreet art. Which makes Exit Through The Gift Shop either the mostbelievable mockumentary in film history, or the most disingenuousdocumentary. Exit Through The Gift Shop celebrates the subversive excitement manyartists feel as they skewer the pieties of the pop culture that spawnedthem and not so subtly reminds us that on occasion, even the tamest ofartists will bite the hand that feeds them. Don't miss it.

23 May 2012

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 =)

Movie_Muse_Reviews

23 May 2012

A unique documentary that will never be replicated

"Exit Through the Gift Shop" might be the only documentary where thedocumentarian is more fascinating than the film — and the film is quitefascinating. A documentary about street art and the shadowy enigmaticfigures that create it sounds interesting; a documentary about streetart made by one of those shadowy figures sounds captivating.British street artist Banksy, whose work has become world-renowned (andexpensive) in the last 5-10 years, has composed this documentary usinghours upon hours of footage taken by a man named Thierry Guetta, aFrench-born American who beginning in 1999 began to follow several ofthe world's most prolific street artists, including Shepard Fairey (theObama "Hope" poster) and Banksy, with the idea of making his own streetart documentary. When Guetta finally finished his documentary, Banksydetermined it was crap and took the reigns from Guetta, pushing him tofollow his own artistic passion. In the film, this is when Banksy turnsthe camera on Guetta, who builds his own street art identity, Mr.Brain-Wash, from basically nothing.The result is a sort of two-sided documentary and one that many believeto be partially fabricated. Considering Banksy is one of the mostelusive and mysterious artists in the world, it's hard not to considerthat his documentary might be just that — art. To explain, when ThierryGuetta starts to work on his own Mr. Brain-Wash art, he hires anextensive team of artists, graphic designers, sculptors and more tohelp bring his vision to life, so basically he buys his talent. Then,he uses his connections with Fairey and Banksy to score majorendorsements and hype his show and his reputation as the next bigthing. When his show becomes a runaway hit, we're left wondering: whatreally constitutes an artist?As such, the theory lingers out there as to whether Banksy, Fairey andGuetta were all collaborators on the aptly named "Mr. Brain-Wash" inorder to shed a new light on the public perception of art and streetart in particular. Doing so would boost the profile of the art formwhile also making people think twice about what they value as art bothinternally and with their wallets. However, if Banksy's film containsno contrivances, it nevertheless gives more credence to him and Faireyas true artists.Either way, the events could not be staged, especially all of Guetta'sfootage in the first portion of the film. As for the second part, ifGuetta truly created this persona with the genuine purpose of makinghis own art, people still flocked to see and buy his celebrity- themedAndy Warhol knock-offs, which turns out to be the take-home point ofthis part of the film. If anything, you could consider it a bit of asocial experiment, just one where we as viewers are not allowed on theother side of the glass.The film succeeds as both street art documentary and a character studyon Guetta, though a distinct feeling that certain things worthy ofexplanation are left out pervades the film. Just that faint notion ofviewer deception prevents "Gift Shop" from being an truly elitedocumentary. Because Banksy directed, you never get a sense of who isreally behind the camera conducting interviews with him, Fairey andGuetta toward the end of the film. Traditional documentary filmmakershave that kind of "presence" in their films that legitimize the workthey're doing because we clearly sense the intention, but Banksy beingthe figure he is, clouds up our sight of his intention. Fascinating,yes, but the film leaves you confused in several places."Exit Through the Gift Shop" pushes the boundaries for what adocumentary is and can be, which makes it one of the most unique filmsever made. The lack of clarity and the question of authenticity, asdistracting and bothersome as it may be, makes the film all the moreintriguing. In the end, Banksy's core question of who can be an artistand what constitutes an artist or art, rings loud and clear. Thatconversation will always be inextricably tied to all art forms forever.~Steven CVisit my site http://moviemusereviews.com

gavin6942

21 May 2012

A Bizarre Piece of Filmed Art About Bizarre Pop Street Art

Much better reviews than I could hope to write have been written, so Iwill keep my remarks short. I have no background knowledge in streetart, beyond having heard of Banksy, to really judge this film on thebreadth or depth of its coverage.What I found interesting about this film is not so much the film itself(although it is quite good), but the controversy surrounding it, whichis an extension of the actual film to a point. Some have said thatBanksy, who is the film's director and also a big part of the film, hascreated Mr. Brainwash and that the entire film is a scam.I think just the opposite. I think the film is completely real, butBanksy is pushing the idea that it is just a scam to create buzz forit. Which, I think, has worked. By taking a good film and then turningit into a piece of art with multiple dimensions: is there a scam ornot, and if so, what is it? That is genius.I also appreciate the inclusion of Shepard Fairey, who I did not knowbefore this film. I had seen his "obey" stuff and the Andre the Giantstuff, and of course the Obama poster. But i did not know who made itor that these were all the same guy. That was a nice revelation for me,and it was great to put a face to the work -- here is a street artistat work since 1989 that has risen to something more. Banksy may be amillionaire street artist, but a street artist just the same. Fairey iscommercial, whether that is good or not.

GloriousGooner

21 May 2012

Lesson learned from the street art market

Exit Through The Gift Shop - note, this is a Banksy film not a filmabout Banksy. The film is actually about Theirry, a french weirdoliving in LA who films everything (very Peeping Tom if you ask me)until he encounters street art through his cousin - and thus hisobsessive documenting of the street art movement begins. He films abunch of artists and, eventually, the elusive Banksy. Banksy comesacross as very down to earth, earnest and quite funny in this as hecomments on his experiences with Theirry. It's Theirry, how art changedTheirry's life and how Theirry's life changed art that's the crux ofthe film. With no artistic credentials whatsoever, no imagination and ashed-load of money he went and made a mint from selling his own streetart under the moniker MBW (Mr Brainwash) - and even that is essentiallypilfered from the ideas of the prolific "Obey" artist. Every artist inthe film seems to regret having met and even helped Theirry, and theyall abhor his market success and what it means for street art. Is therea moral? Even Banksy doesn't know, and as he says: "It's not Gone WithThe Wind". All i took from it is that street art belongs in the street,not in auction houses, for free, for all and open at all times topublic criticism rather than locked in a 'valuable' collection. It'sperhaps the definitive street art disaster movie.

18 May 2012

Based on a true story?

Viewers love a "based on a true story" story as this film claims to be. But is it? This is a quirky film about a rather manic frenchman who follows and films graffiti artists and then decides to become one. If you are like me, you'll quickly be asking yourself "is this for real?" and be compelled to pause the movie for a bit of googling. My conclusion: a film based on real events and real people with a story largely fabricated for the film. I believe the main character in this movie and his story was created expressly for this movie - sort of stenciled into a backdrop of real events. Others may see things very differently. Isn't that one measure of good art? This is a film worth springing for the Blu-ray version.

18 May 2012

Engaging, entertaining, and worth many a discussion after watching

This review is from: Exit Through the Gift Shop (Amazon Instant Video) My wife and I heard about Banksy some time ago and were actually anxious just to learn more about his craft and talent. Akin to the main theme of the movie, after watching Exit Through the Gift Shop I think we got what we were looking for, but not quite in the way we expected.The movie is divided pretty fairly into three equally entertaining sections. The first third introduces the protagonist, Thierry, and sets the background for his obsession with street artists. The middle portion of the movie introduces Banksy and follows the growth of his relationship with Thierry. The final act features Thierry almost exclusively, and while I was sure I knew where the film was going to end up, I found myself anxiously awaiting confirmation (incidentally, I couldn't have been more wrong).My favorite thing about this excellent film is the conversations it begets once the credits have rolled. Questions are raised about each of the film's featured artists and the art world in general that may not have clear answers, but are entertaining to discuss nonetheless. I appreciated that the film was willing to acknowledge that it didn't have the answers either, especially considering how difficult it must have been to not pretend otherwise.My wife and I may not agree about exactly what happened at the end of the film or why, but I think we can both agree on one thing after viewing: Banksy is much, much more talented than either of us originally thought (and we thought pretty highly of him before).

18 May 2012

Ipse dixit...

Ipse dixit..."I don't know how to play chess, but life is a chess game for me."Thierry Guetta (Mister Brainwash), Exit Through the Gift Shop

Abhishek Bhatt

18 May 2012

Stay foolish

I went in to watch Exit Through Gift Shop for Banksy and came out inlove with Thierry Guetta (aka Mister Brainwash). I don't care whetherhe is for real or not, it's been a while since I have seen such acompelling character.. the Don Quixote of 21st century.The film is full of irreverent humor, much like Banksy's graffiti, butwith one difference - the joke's on him.. or us.. or, as Banksy'sformer spokesman Steve Lazarides says in the film - 'I don't even knowif there is a joke.'There is. Marketing can create art. That's the joke. Either that ormarketing itself is art. But don't bother with that debate, just go andwatch Mister Brainwash (MBW) as he teaches you how to live life withferocious passion. It doesn't matter if the passion is misdirected.Like Steve Jobs said, 'stay foolish'. Like Quixote declared, 'A knightmust not complain of his wounds, though his bowels be dropping out.'Couldn't help but think of that line when I saw MBW with a fracturedleg preparing for his Big Show while being dragged in a cart.www.AbhishekBhatt.com

SummerLovesFilms

17 May 2012

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!

tedg

16 May 2012

Mister Brainwash

A key insight for me is what I amusingly call Ted's law. In this, whenwe layer abstractions in art, the "distance" between layers is equal.This is a great example.The idea builds on the notion that humans alone are capable of seeingthemselves in the world as they see the world. It is how we defineconsciousness.Shakespeare started the notion of folding in art, where we add anotherlayer: we have us as audience, a state both we and the play (in thiscase the play) acknowledge. In the play, we have people in the samestate, an audience of sorts for the world of the movie. SinceShakespeare, we elaborate these folds because of the greater narrativepalette it affords, but the basic dynamics are analogic layers, folds.Ted's law holds that the relationship of abstraction establishedbetween the audience and the play is the same as that between theaudience and the play (or whatever) within.Banksy is an artist who works with this idea. His art almost alwaysconsists of two elements. One is chaotic, sloppy, copying (or adoptingexisting) graffiti, the vandalism sort. Superimposed on that is anobserver rendered in a different style. These are made from stencilsbut originate in and reference photographs. These are on the street, soan observer can see the people looking at the art, the character withinthe art, and some random "art" designated from previously would havebeen equivalent to trash.Frankly, this is a trivial idea because it is "small art." Small art isart designed to be consumed in the moment between the flipping of pagesin a magazine, or during commercials. It has to be attractive and easyto "read." On reflection, it has to have a simple explanation. Part ofthis is the supposition that it is art of the people, real, visceralart. For me, it is background noise. It cannot help me, shape me ordestroy me. That's a job for big, long form art.Okay, now the film. The idea is the same: we have the street art. We add another layer: thestory of the artists. We add yet another layer, the story of thefilmmaker covering the story of the artists, making the "observer art"that is superimposed on graffiti, which in turn is linked to us aspassers by. I do not suppose that this was designed by Banksy as aproject beforehand, because that assumes less spontaneity than headvertises. I suppose instead that the story is much as it ispresented: he fell into an opportunity and exploited it in the way heworks.The thing that has captured the imagination of the film public (and theAcademy) is the tantalizing prospect that some part is a hoax. Thisclearly is engineered, because a similar joke is behind his street art.But even that is small art.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

16 May 2012

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.

Lake Culpepper

15 May 2012

Art becomes commercial

I knew nothing of this film. When I received a email from the SundanceInstitute. Stating a surprise Documentary to be screened at Sundance. Ijumped at the opportunity. And what I discovered was brilliant.Sundance announced the surprise documentary was to be "Exit through thegift shop". Now I still knew nothing at this point. Then I overheardmany conversations about this Bansky fellow. So, I felt the need tofind out a bit. Not too much. Wanted to go into this feeling surprised.And I was.The documentary starts off with Terry Guetta a France native living inL.A. Terry filmed everything. I mean everything. Then on a trip back toFrance he followed his cousin "Invader" a well known street artist.Terry found the rush of street art addicting. So, once back in L.A.Terry filmed another famous street artist Shepard Fairey. Now Terry wasnow looking to film the greatest street artist ever. Banksy! AfterBanksy and Terry finally met. Their friendship blossomed. AllowingTerry to film the mysterious Banksy. As the film progresses Terry'sfilm making subsides. And he has the "Bug" to become a street artisthimself. Now as Banksy turns the camera on Terry. The film changesdirection and reveals some interesting facts and faults.I will leave the storyline there. I wouldn't want to give away thewhole documentary. The artwork and the story is engaging. Thedocumentary is thought provoking and honest. A must see for all.

14 May 2012

Slices of evil

Images of a world. Its connections of each peace of society. Reflectionabout stains and price of lives. Slices from Italy - shadows, fear andcircles. A film about exploiting Warhol after his death but more. Amovie about ways of silence and coldness of crime. About survive at anylevel. About masters and victims. About art slaves. In black and gray.About innocence as crust of deep abyss. About a space who can beanyway. Fresco of rude rules, description of crimes as vascular artery,it is exercise to define roots of our time. So, the frontiers betweengood and bad are fiction. The escape - only illusion. Money and fearare pieces of normal way to transform reality. As form of jungle. Buttotally absurd.The boy - seed is, in fact, only question. Without answers.

thesubstream

13 May 2012

Fake, real, some weird combo. It doesnt matter much, which is... unique

Exit Through the Gift Shop, the first film directed by reclusivestreet-art legend Banksy, is a little puzzle-box of a documentary. It'sperfectly designed and pitched to be enjoyable on multiple levels: onone as an entertaining, illuminating mini-history of "street art" andon another - one entirely more convoluted and entertaining - as alight-hearted "up yours" to both street artists and their patrons.Ostensibly (to take the film's word for it) Banksy's film came aboutwhen he, as the premiere 21st Century graffiti art darling, wasapproached by Thierry Guetta, a French-born Los Angeleno. Guetta wantedto make a documentary about street art, and Banksy was the last majorfigure whose participation he felt he needed, as an affablepersonality, a love of video cameras and a chance relationship toInvader, a French street-art pioneer who networked with other artistslike Shepard Fairey, had left Guetta with hundreds of hours of footagedocumenting the birth of the art.After tracking Banksy down and shooting him working, Guetta retired tothe cutting room. He emerged months later and showed it to Banksy. Hedidn't like the film, a couple of minutes of which are excerpted andare plainly terrible, and offered to take over Guetta's doc whileGuetta returned to Los Angeles to turn himself into a street artsensation, named "Mr. Brainwash" or MBW. Transforming overnight from anaffable, helpful documentarian to a one-man hype-monster artiste, MBW'senormous spraypaint cans, TV monsters and Warhol-style send-upscaptured the attention of the LA art crowd, who spent over a millionbucks on his stuff, much to the chagrin of Fairey and Banksy. Guetta'sfilm about Banksy changes into Banksy's film about Guetta and streetart, and the rise of a new unfortunate talent.Except, as I and a lot of other folks believe, it's all made up. It's ahoax, it has to be, it's too hilariously perfect to be anything but.Banksy, as a street artist, has seen the perception of his works - bydesign temporary, and by design defacements - change from graffiti intoart that needs preservation, that is cut out from walls and sold.Banksy, in making Exit Through the Gift Shop with Fairey and Guetta hasfound a way to deface, scrawl over and heap lighthearted disdain allover both himself and the people who snap up his art.It's spectacular, it's brilliant and all the more so in that it's stilla documentary, still a record of events. It's not artificial, not amockumentary in the way that Spinal Tap is. MBW exists, having beencreated by Guetta or Banksy or both, and the film documents hisarrival. Exactly who it is that arrives is the film's mystery.Exit Through the Gift Shop captures the birth of a prank, an elaborate,entertaining gotcha that fits perfectly in Banksy's nose-tweaking,politically-aware, cheeky body of work. Moreover, the film doesn't relyon any rug-snapping-out to really work. It works if it's true, it worksif it's not, because it's a construction that's above all entertaining.It's a glimpse, anyway, of a world that's built at night, bystreetlight, one that's fascinating even if it is in the middle ofpulling the wool over our eyes. It's genius, plain and (not so verymuch at all) simple.

13 May 2012

If it sells, its art? - an intriguing and amusing take on the rise (and fall?) of the underground world of street art

So there's this French guy (Thierry) who runs a vintage clothing boutique in L.A., and who's obsessed with shooting video. He captures everything he can - no matter how boring or profound, and just throws his tapes into boxes ... until he finds something fascinating to follow and make a film about, and doesn't have a clue what to do with it. It turns out his cousin is the semi-famous street artist, "Space Intruder." He introduces Thierry to the world of street art, where he ends up meeting Banksy, the most famous and elusive of them all, and gets inspired to be an artist in his own right, whether or not he has anything original to say. This all takes place as the art market is discovering street art, and what had been transgressive acts of artistic rebellion put up in secret are now becoming costly and coveted and displayed with pride by the same museums that Banksy once had to sneak into in order to place his work. When Banksy discovers that the guy has no idea how to make the film that this movement calls for with all his material, he decides to take on the task of making the film himself. It becomes a film about the obsessive guy with a camera who wanted to make a film about street artists and became Mr. Brainwash, either the ultimate con-artist or the true artist who revealed that all art is a con, a "brainwash scheme," and still managed to make money with it. Of course, as some have alleged, the film itself could be just another Banksy prank. It's fun to watch and pretty fascinating regardless. It ranks up there with Orson Welles's F for Fake as an exploration of the art world and its apparent charlatans, who nevertheless manage to produce work that can't simply be dismissed. Highly recommended for anyone interested in modern art, but it's portrait of what looks to be an impending trainwreck should be suspenseful and intriguing enough for almost any audience.

12 May 2012

A great satire(?)

Better than a vast majority of the garbage that Hollywood spews out, this one really gets you thinking as it plays out. At first it seems like an entertaining (albeit conventional) documentary. But by the end you realize that it is a mixture of satire documentary and a sort of reality TV. You won't be sorry.

09 May 2012

Jaccuse muttonchop. haha

Documentaries don't often thrill me - but this movie kept me more on the edge of my seat than most standard action films. I got to see one of Banksy's works while in Boston, and have since been very interested in the street art world. This movie does exactly what all documentaries should do - it gives you a first person immersion into a world that exists but most people don't even know is there. It's equal parts riveting and sad, but all together entertaining. You won't be able to look at a wall the same way again....and I mean that as a compliment.

09 May 2012

You will never look at graffiti the same way again!

I will start by saying this is now my new Favorite movie of all time! This movie will consume you while your watching it. It's a documentary, but not one at all. There is not one part where its boring. It's funny, serious, beautiful, incredible, and above all inspirational. It gives a very good introduction into the small world of street art with the workings of Shepard Fairey, Invader, Seizer, Sweet Toof, and much more. Ive seen this movie three times now and am breaking down and buying the DVD because i love it THAT MUCH. I recommend it to all my friends and they love it just as much. WATCH THIS MOVIE!