Exit Through the Gift Shop
Composite Score: 85.03
Featuring: Banksy, Mr. Brainwash, Space Invader, Debora Guetta, Monsieur André, Zeus, Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Swoon, and Borf
Director: Banksy
Genres: Documentary, Comedy, Crime, History, Art
MPAA Rating: R for some language
Box Office: $5.39 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Exit Through the Gift Shop is Banksy’s documentary about street art and, more specifically, the rise of the street “artist” known as Mr. Brainwash. Utilizing interviews, archive footage from shoots done by Thierry Guetta before he became Mr. Brainwash, and new footage of MBW’s latest escapades, Banksy gives audiences a clear and entertaining picture of the world of street art and street artists while also offering a hilarious profile of one of the more infamous street artists of the day. The film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and it has been celebrated for its self-deprecating look at the world of street art and the fun pacing of the whole thing.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Exit Through the Gift Shop has an odd energy about it that could be farcical. Banksy’s admission at the end of the film about the nature of consumerism and art and, more specifically, street art gives the whole documentary a feeling of satire more than authenticity. Guetta’s (Mr. Brainwash/MBW) antics can feel almost too wacky and too convenient to the narrative that Banksy crafts in the film to be truly genuine. It’s easy to see a world where an audience looking for a documentary about the world of street art could watch this film and come away frustrated that they’d been taken for a ride and not actually offered much of the real thing or substance. I personally find it difficult to discount the entirety of the film as satire or an attempt to poke fun at viewers, but I can also see where those who espouse that view are coming from. I was left at the end of the film with a very different feeling than I’m usually left with at the end of documentaries. I didn’t feel awed or frustrated or mobilized. I just felt light, as if I’d just watched a really good comedy, which this certainly is, regardless of whether it’s all true or not. I just don’t know if that’s what everyone wants when they watch a documentary about street art.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
I don’t really know whether this film is genuine or sarcastic or just a little self-aware and self-deprecating, and honestly, I don’t know that it matters because Banksy has created one of the most fun and hilarious documentaries not titled Jackass that I’ve ever seen. Exit Through the Gift Shop offers an entertaining look at a specific subset of the art world, tracking its rise and eventual commodification in a creative way that introduces those unfamiliar with the important players and events of that world, while also offering commentary and Easter eggs for those who do know a thing or two. It’s an ideal documentary, giving any sort of viewer the information that they need to make an informed decision about what’s unfolding on screen while also keeping them engaged with some of the most interesting “real” characters they’ve probably ever seen. To then end this film in the way that Banksy does, with an extended sequence that’s essentially making fun of its subject (both the person and the art form), is a bold but brilliant choice on the part of the artist because it really does leave the audience wondering how much of what they just watched is genuine and how much is fabricated as part of some larger artistic piece or commentary that Banksy is trying to make. It’s great, it’s fun, it’s funny. I don’t know that you could ask for a much better art documentary.
Banksy’s unique blend of social commentary, self-deprecation, and outright humor make his documentary about the world of street art and the artists that inhabit it a thoroughly entertaining ride, worthy of mention alongside the greatest films. While its ability to make fun of its subjects might leave some viewers scratching their heads, it will just as easily thrill others and get them thinking even more deeply about the nature of the art that they just spent time ruminating on. This film cannot currently be streamed anywhere, but it will probably show back up somewhere in the near future, and that’ll be a good time to catch it.