Exit Through The Gift Shop

UK Release: 5th March 2010

Watched on TV: Friday 19th August 2011

Rating: 15

Genre: Documentary, Comedy

Runtime: 1hr 27mins

Tagline: The world's first Street Art disaster movie.

IMDb Plot Summary: The story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. The film contains footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work.

My Review: A fascinating look at the underground lives of street artists through the eyes of Thierry Guetta. 

As Banksy himself puts it at the beginning of the film, Thierry becomes a much more interesting subject than the actual art. In fact, as the film goes on he gets more and more weird, while remaining oddly fascinating as he spirals into utter ridiculousness. The concept of him filming everything is a great one and feels even more real and relatable as we find out he's been lying to the artists, telling him that he has been making a street art film.

But what stood out to me the most was Banksy’s commentary on him. It is simply hilarious, adding a touch of common sense to proceedings - speaking aloud what we’re all thinking. It makes me admire him even more than I did before. I don’t know if you have to be a fan of street art to enjoy the film, but it is an intelligent, funny look at this world that we're never normally privy too. 

I became a big fan of Banksy after seeing his Bristol show a few years ago. It took 5 and a half hours in the rain queuing but it was completely worth it. So as you'd expect, Exit Through The Gift Shop has definitely been on a much-watch list ever since it was released. And I’m so glad I’ve finally been able to see it as it definitely hasn’t disappointed. 

Score: 8.5/10