Documentary corner: Exit Through the Gift Shop

Last week we had The Imposter – a gripping documentary following a bizarre case of identity fraud and murder. The film was heavy with recreation scenes and utilised them to such an extent that it blurred the lines between documentary and feature drama. The documentary of choice this week continues the theme of mixing reality and fiction. The difference here is that it's kind of the point. In reality, Exit Through the Gift Shop may not even be allowed to feature in this section, as it’s not really clear if it can really be called a ‘documentary’.

The narrative presented to us (should we take the film’s word for it) is that an eccentric amateur filmmaker Thierry Guetta set out to locate and document a number of popular street artists, including the controversial graffiti artist Banksy. Guetta was interested in filming the creative process, – telling many prominent ‘street artists’ that he is making a feature documentary when, in reality, he has no intention of editing his footage. Banksy, as I’m sure you know, is a fan of anonymity and as it turns out eventually turns the cameras back on Thierry.

In the end Banksy is credited as the director of this film, taking the creative reigns to tell his own story with Guetta’s supposed ‘mountain of video cassettes’ to hand. The final parts of the film describe how Banksy convinces Thierry himself to become a street artist under the title of ‘Mr. Brainwash’. ‘M.B.W.’ goes onto make millions off the oh-so-trendy art crowd of LA. The issue here is how much of this story we believe, and personally, I don’t believe any of it. In this way, whilst the documentation of the other street artists is factual, Banksy quite clearly fabricated this character of Guetta to tell his own story. I’m just not massively interested in debating its legitimacy.

To the film’s credit, there is a nice blend of sweet and sour here with humour and political satire both featuring heavily. The film shines in its first act which gives us the backstory of various prominent street artists such as ‘Space Invader’ and Shepard Fairey. Also interesting is how the film explores the idea that the most important thing in the art world is not the quality of your pieces but rather your ability to create hype. Banksy, through this character of Guetta, exposes how comfortably commercial street art has become.

The fact remains that he’s so unfathomably annoying that you’ll want to reach into your TV and strangle him by the third act. If Banksy makes another film without the pretentious nonsense or over-complications, I’ll make sure to give it a watch.