One of the original goals of this blog was to highlight films that may have otherwise been overlooked. Exit Through the Gift Shop is a case in point. Fresno Filmworks actually brought this documentary to the local Tower Theater for a one-night screening. But having never heard of the movie, it didn't really catch my attention. Plus I was probably on call.So I didn't actually get around to seeing it until I started a one month Netflix free trial and saw it on Watch Instantly (I haven't formally joined Netflix because it would probably turn me into a hermit since I'm such a movieholic, addicted to moviehol.)
Anyway, Exit Through the Gift Shop is an excellent documentary, the best I've seen in a while. It begins as an exploration into the clandestine world of street art, as seen from a very curious observer, Thierry Guetta. Guetta, a clothing vendor and amateur video recorder, finds himself intrigued by the unusual artwork momentarily displayed in various public locations, and seeks to understand how and why these images are created. He meets and follows Shepard Fairy, the creator of the Obey stencils. But Guetta's ultimate goal becomes finding the elusive Banksy, one of the most infamous street artists in the world. The documentary then takes an unexpected twist when Banksy, once befriended by Guetta, then turns the camera around and makes Guetta the subject of the documentary. What ensues is a hilarious and ridiculous look into Guetta's life, as he himself attempts to become a street artist and draw fame and fortune from the phenomenon.
A word about documentaries themselves. What are they exactly? The documentary was originally a category of film in which a particular event was documented for posterity. An excellent example would be The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, in which the coup that overthrew Hugo Chavez in 2002 was incredibly captured by Irish filmmakers. But documentaries today seem to have moved on from this key, and instead become a medium for talking heads, reenactments and archived footage. An Inconvenient Truth, for example, didn't really document anything, rather was a mouthpiece for Al Gore to educate audiences about global warming. Which is fine. But the power of the documentary lies in the incontrovertible evidence of the real images and sound presented, as compared to the staged fictitious scenes of a movie. Errol Morris' The Thin Blue Line is a great example of this power. In this documentary the director so eloquently presented the evidence behind the murder of a police officer that the man who had been convicted of the crime and sentenced to death was later absolved and released from prison!
What's great about Exit Through the Gift Shop is that the street artists' creative production process is captured so well on film. We see the artists cutting stencils, copying at Kinko's, scaling buildings, spray painting, and fleeing the police. Because this art form is so covert, the film is all the more illuminating. We also develop an appreciation for the artworks' messages of rebellion, creativity and irreverence.
The movie is nominated for the Oscar for best documentary. I think it deserves to win. It will be interesting to see if the mysterious Banksy will show up and, if he wins, what he will say. Or spray.
