Serious Movie Lover

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (2010, IN THEATERS) Where to start with this film? First off, it is a NOT TO BE MISSED documentary (mock-umentory? or perhaps prank-umentory?) for art lovers and film lovers everywhere. Presented as “a Banksy Film” from “Paranoid Pictures” (with a fabulous mock-up of the Paramount Pictures logo), you’ll find yourself at the end saying, “Wait! Who made this movie? Where did this come from?” And just how much is Banksy putting us on? The film presents us with Thierry Guetta, a French transplant to Los Angeles, who is obsessed with filming street artists—where artist is the operative word. He introduces us to quite a number of very talented street artists before connecting with the ultimate: Banksy, the world-famous British street artist whose works have adorned no less than the infamous Israeli created Palestinian Wall and whose art show in Los Angeles was a mega-hit. But wait…this film isn’t about Banksy after all. It’s about Banksy telling us about Thierry who eventually morphs into Mr. BrainWash (MBW) and launches his own mega-Warhol-ripoff show in LA. Say what? This film is FUN!! And has sparked excellent debate about whether Thierry is just an actor, fronting for Banksy, in a mega-prank, or is a legit pop-culture rip-off artist raking in the bucks.  As Be, fellow film and art lover and SML reviewer says, “Just remember that this is all art.” She’s right!

Grade: A+

BTW: They even manage to get DisneyLand into this film….I’ll say no more.

Follow these links, among many, for more “buzz” about who’s pranking whom:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/dylan-jones/dylan-jones-thierry-guetta-was-simply-meant-to-direct-banksys-film-now-hes-selling-everything-with-his-name-on-it-1919246.html

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/04/banksy_mr_brainwash.html