EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (2010)

"Following the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world." 

That's the official IMDB description for this Oscar-nominated documentary but does that even really describe it?  Well.....sort of.  The amateur filmmaker described is likely Theirry Guetta, a French clothing shop-owner in Los Angeles who never goes anywhere without his camera and we initially seem to follow him as he takes a very strong interest in graffiti artists.  So he starts to film various reknowned streets artists in action including Shephard Fairey, Space Invader, Borf, Buffmontster, and eventually.....the legendary Banksy.  He builds a relationship with Banksy, decides to film some exciting new acts of street art and then things get increasingly interesting....AND funny! :)  Well as it turns out, Banksy himself is the ACTUAL director of this film, Theirry Guetta MIGHT be the actual star, it's all wittily narrated by Welsh actor Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, House of the Dragon), and what results could actually be one of the funniest (yet still insightful) documentaries of all time. ;) 

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

Transcript

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP - 2010

Directed by Banksy

Starring Thierry Guetta, Banksy, Shepard Fairey, INVADER, Debora Guetta, Monsieur Andre, Zeas, Swoon, Borf, Buffmonster, Steve Lazarides, and Rhys Ifans

Genre: Comedic Documentary (Audio clip)

I feel kind of embarrassed to admit it but I have a bizarrely exhaustive personal history watching this movie.  I saw it a couple of times in theaters....the first time was some advanced screening I got on an email list for and I cannot recall SO much sustained laughter from the audience over a doc like this, just a blast! This being around 2009, Dane Cook on-stage just had NOTHING on that droll blacked-out silhouette of Banksy (the apparent director?) sitting center-frame delivering delicious observations like the following: 

"I used to encourage everyone I met to make art....I don't do that so much anymore." 

It then got to the point where I was obsessively seeking it on physical media to the point where I'm pretty sure that I had to order the wrong region DVD TWICE before finding one I could play at home.....where I would then pretty much share it with EVERYone I could from friends, family, women I dated (this was between marriages mind you), neighbors, and even my daughters when they were barely pre-teens. And they ALL pretty much got the central joke of the movie - which is best summed up by street artist Steve Lazarides towards the end:

"I think the joke is on... I don't know who the joke's on - really. I don't even know if there is a joke." 

It's just that type of tonally absurd ride where you find yourself laughing at what's transpiring on-screen....because it's supposed to be real....but then you find yourself questioning how much actually IS real....and then you find yourself nervously laughing, almost hoping it's NOT real. 🙄 Because is this film actually ABOUT art (more specifically street art) or just our modern day hype-driven marketplace which drives people to absurd lengths to pursue what they PERCEIVE as art? No one on screen even seems to completely grasp what's going on even as they're framed as "experts" on the core subject matter. And that's a big part of what it makes it so special, SO entertaining to spend some time within this amorphous world and to meet folks like amateur filmmaker/opportunistic street artist Thierry Guetta (who eventually nicknames himself, "Mr Brain Wash"(....

"That's why I call myself Mr. Brainwash. It's because everything that I do... somewhere... it brainwash your face!" 

Imagine that being uttered in a sometimes incomprehensible French accent with minimal inflection....and you can see why Banksy (with this being his directorial debut) eventually decided to shift much of the focus on such a ridiculous yet fascinating character. By all accounts, MBW (as he intitializes himself) is generally a talentless hack who's finds success through sheer force of will....he's a cad whose main strength ends up relentlessly just duplicating (or hiring others to do so) mass quantities of others people's art/likenesses and then just tweaking them for profit. He's basically a more harmless version of other 21st century swindlers like Elizabeth Holmes or Billy McFarland except (if his story is 100% true) for one key thing which will keep him out of jail: art is subjective. 

If folks like MBW are good enough at cos-playing as artists, then why shouldn't they be able to convince thousands of boujee wanna-be art collectors to overpay for a print of Elvis holding a fluorescent-colored toy gun in place of his guitar? 😆 Guetta also happens to just be one key aspect of what makes this doc so entertaining. Banksy himself also provides an unmistakable presence even though we never see his face nor hear his real voice. 

And the third key player driving the fun is Welsh actor Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, Enduring Love) delivering DELIGHTFULLY sincere voice-over narration over ALL of this, even making it sound like a actual fairy tale at points. :) Overall, whether Banksy's Oscar-nominated (!) documentary is truly sincere about its subject matter, it's all just presented to the audience with such joy and wit throughout....that you just can't help but breeze through it with a grin on your face by the end. And maybe that's even the point? 🤔

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

For a documentary with pretty minimal music kept mostly in the background, this is still a surprisingly easy choice as we hear a very lovely pop song bookending this film over the opening and closing credits, BOTH showing various footage of graffiti artists at work.  The song is from an artist whom I really wasn’t that aware of though apparently – bear in mind that I have read some conflicting things about this – co-wrote and performed with the band Pulp on what I think remains one of THE best pop singles of the ’90’s, “Common People.” (Audio clip) 

I’m referring to the long-time journeyman award-winning singer-songwriter….Sheffield, England’s OWN Richard Hawley….who not only worked with various British artists including All Saints, Manic Street Preachers, and Paul Weller….but has also had a pretty extensive solo career over the past twenty-five years.  The track featured here over both credits is from his 2007 album, “Lady’s Bridge” and this remains one of his most popular singles.  It’s a LIVELY mid-tempo number with a disarming retro-soundscape of keyboards and strings….as if could have been released forty years prior.  The song is the delightful, “Tonight The Streets Are Ours.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

No wasted talent involved here though I DO wish that this was an easier film to find via streaming OR even physical media.

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Even though HIS actual artwork is only a small part of this story, Banksy DOES provide some genuine highlights along the way including what for me remains the standout sequence in the film which occurs RIGHT around the halfway point, about 45 minutes into the film.  It’s such an audacious stunt on Banksy’s part that you would THINK that this might be the climax of this particular movie.  What I’m referring to is a nutso excursion to Disneyland which involves Banksy himself planting a blow-up model of a Gitmo prisoner right alongside a roller-coaster. 😁 (With Thierry as his accomplice) (Audio clip) 

Now among much of the rest of this film, there has been rampant speculation that this elaborate prank didn’t really occur….and given the seemingly too-easy way which both figures are able to avoid being arrested for it, you would be forgiven for being skeptical.  Just the whole way Thierry describes how he’s able to quickly delete those photos from his digital camera, I’m like, “Really?”  But apparently this stunt DID really occur in September 2006, eerily (and some would even tastelessly) timed for the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  Though I GET what Banksy was going for and to be fair….by this time, it was pretty mainstream to savagely criticize the Iraq War and the US’ conduct during this war.  Regardless what a great gag! (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

I was GENUINELY tempted to choose Thierry Guetta as he really IS the main protagonist of this story, undoubtedly a truly fascinating and entertaining one at that.  But at the end of the day, it HAS to be Banksy….hoax or not, he assembled all of this footage together into a cohesive and unique story.  This remains the ONLY feature length film he has directed and considering that he’s not actually a filmmaker, how could he EVER top himself?  Banksy is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 5 stars out of 5 

If you haven’t yet seen this by all means check it out – it’s a joy to watch whether you buy it all or not.  Happy Fifteenth Anniversary to my FAVORITE documentary of all time!

Available to Buy on Prime Video OR Streaming on YouTube

And that ends another BRAINWASH YOUR FACE review!