Review of Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) by Mike C — 08 Mar 2011

The incredible true story of how the world's greatest Street Art movie was never made...

I must start saying that I have been a fan of street art for a long time, before it even started as a trend. When I heard that this documentary was going to be about street art I got really excited, but what turned out to be was a big promotion almost an industrial vision of street artists.

This isn't a movie about Banksy, lets make that clear, but like the movie, they use his name to get promotion, this rather interesting movie about what to me is the best work of art there is, turns out to be a big disappointment when we realize that all the movie really wants is to promote these names that should be promoted, they are underground artists, and so these infiltrating new artists make of what is a underground trend something achievable by any little playboy.

Overall its a good documentary, it gives a basic insight on what street art is, however throughout the movie we are able to see the real intentions behind it, which is to sell, and thats when the movie starts to lack intrest in my opinion. I've been a fan of street art movies for a long time, there are many out there, a whole bunch of documentaries that really show what street art is all about, and the real undergroundness of it. So Exit Through The Gift Shop isn't all that good, for someone with a passion for street art like me, just to hear the words of Bansky, MBW, and other artists is really amazing, but either than that this movie is that total irony of street art.

Thierry Guetta: " I don't know how to play chess, but to me, life is like a game of chess.".