January 12, 2011: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Exit Through the Gift Shop is a quirky documentary about the evolution of street art (sometimes seen as graffiti) over the past decade or so, primarily in Los Angeles. It has received good reviews on the festival circuit and is nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature category, but I did not find myself terribly impressed.
Directed by “Banksy”, himself a secretive street artist, the film covers the strange story of Thierry Guetta, a shopkeeper who obsessively videotapes everything he sees and who found himself associated with street artists, documenting their work endlessly for years under the guise of creating a documentary film. When he finally puts together a terribly scattered film from his footage, Banksy steps in, having become a friend of Thierry’s, and completes a real documentary film which finishes with Thierry’s graduation to becoming a street artist himself, transitioning to a successful gallery opening.
The story of the street art culture is fascinating, with strangely-named characters playing a dangerous and destructive game of one-upmanship as they try to produce ever more dramatic pieces of art in the streetscape. Thierry, however, is annoying from start to finish, and it’s hard to understand why anyone put up with him for so long. This becomes all the more galling when Thierry, with the support of Banksy, becomes a famous and wealthy artist from producing what is widely held to be mediocre work. The coda to the film brings some satisfaction, as Banksy declares that it was probably a mistake to get mixed up with Thierry, and he probably won’t continue to work with him. There’s genuine emotion here, mostly negative, yet I get the sense that everyone involved is at least happy that their occupation is receiving such publicity. However, this is not a particularly pleasant or inspiring film to watch.
Interesting story of some annoying people.
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