Watch Exit Through the Gift Shop For Free

Sorry, this movie sucks

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Exit Through The Gift Shop is the Inception of the documentary genre. Like Inception, which dealt with a dream-within-a-dream plot and posed questions about what was real and what wasn't, Exit Through The Gift Shop does the same thing. It's like a documentary within a documentary and it's never quite clear if the whole thing is just one big hoax or if it's all real. I'm not really sure what else to say about this truly original documentary. It's not often I'm at a lose for words after I finish a movie, but that was the case with Exit Through The Gift Shop. For those that are unfamiliar with the plot, I will try to take a crack at it. Thierry Guetta is an amateur filmmaker who stumbles into the underground world of street art. While traveling around the world documenting some of the most talented street artists, Thierry decides to take the footage and make a documentary. The only problem is that he has no idea what to do with the literally hundreds of hours of footage. Once Thierry finally sits down to edit the film, he produces a long, almost unwatchable series of images that made no sense whatsoever. Guetta soon shows the finished product to Banksy, who is considered one of best and enigmatic artists on the underground scene, and he very kindly lets Thierry know that it's garbage and it doesn't show the true artistic expression of street art. Banksy tells Thierry to leave him the footage so he can put something together. With the film out of his hands, a funny thing happened to Theirry. Instead of just documenting street artists, he becomes one himself. The rest of the film chronicles Guetta as he builds his art business, selling some of this "street art" for thousands of dollars. Guetta took street art, something that he fell in love with, and turned it into a commercial enterprise. But by doing so, he essentially loses the spirit of the art. Street art isn't about fame or fortune, it's about expressing yourself and this is where Guetta fails to become a true artist. Or does he? Maybe the whole film is one big hoax to show how subjective art is and a commentary on what should or shouldn't be considered art. If you are a fan of documentaries, Exit Through The Gift Shop should be your first stop. I have zero interest in the world of street art and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Learning about street art was very informative, but the true star of the film is Guetta. A captivating and enthralling person if there ever was one. Real or fake, Exit Through The Gift Shop is a great film. So much for not knowing what to say, huh?

I thought this was good. Without doubt would a gawk. By giving a summary I would be spoiling the mocumentary or documentary or commentary, in all it is simply a Banksy art piece and one of his very good ones. Its ironic that this anonymous street graffiti artist is now one of the most famous and probably the richest working artist and deservedly so. In his short time some of his pieces have become iconic and he always gets in the news.The world is a slightly better place with bananas as guns, kissing bobbies, provocative pictures on the Israeli peace wall and a meat van full of screaming stuffed animals.See this you will laugh.

I don't know if there is any definitive proof out there to suggest that this in fact a "mockumentary" or a "prankumentary", or whatever else it has been coined by critics for that matter - but - hoax or not, I thought it was well worth the watch! I personally believe it is fake. Straight from the off I began to to question aspects of the story; the validity of the storyline, the authenticity of the characters, and in particular, who was doing the filming when it was the film-maker in shot!? Anyway, that aside, Banksy does make a pretty convincing movie, and after surfing the web for just a few minutes, my findings have proved that many (dupes?) still firmly believe the material is 100% authentic.For me, this takes little away from my enjoyment in watching the film. Towards the end, I did feel a little cheated, as documentaries have traditionally been based on reality, and therefore a non fiction documentary does seem a little pointless. But like I said before, it is still worth watching.Admiring the many pieces of street art, alone, make the film worth a watch for me. Don't expect to be blown away, because this after all is just a documentary, (and lets face it, no documentaries are that exciting!) but it certainly does enough to maintain my interest throughout.I doubt this is ever going to exist as somebody's 'favourite movie ever', I think I can say that with conviction, however, it is one of those films that I recommend you watch - If only once.

I saw this movie with a friend of mine when it first came out. We saw it in a darkened room in back of a bar and it felt deliciously illegal as tho we were one of the privileged few to see it since we were personally invited, even tho we paid $3.Exit Through the Gift Shop blew our minds.Controversial scuttlebutt abounds on whether it is a mocumentary. Or, is it real and is Thierry Guetta, the French filmmaker turned graffiti artist, the real subject of the film.Either way - it is a brilliant film.If it is real, Thierry is a great subject and a remarkable turn of events happen to him. If it is a mocumentary it is brilliant and the best documentary to come along in years.I believe Banksy is behind it all like the man behind the curtain in Wizard of Oz.Making faux documentaries are not new.In 1967, Jim McBride made an independent film, David Holzman's Diary, , which was about him following his girlfriend around with a 16mm film camera where he documented his "break up" with her in cinema verite style. People booed at a festival when they found out it was written by Jim McBride.And of course, there are the Christopher Guest mocumentaries like Spinal Tap, Best of Show and others, which bares close resemblance to documentary but is fully scripted.And of course, The Room, a great spoof on movies, and billed as the worst movie every made, starring Tommy Wiseau. He offers even funnier answers to q&A after the movie.After seeing Exit a third time, I am convinced that Banksy orchestrated every scene and brilliantly so. Yet questions arise. How did he get early footage of Thierry and family. What about the box of tapes, and video of Thierry putting up posters like he is the Man with a Movie Camera. The fact that Thierry is called Mr. Brainwash, is a clue Banksy drops behind like pigeon droppings for us to follow. Suppose Thierry had film footage of his family, as already as many of us do, and Banksy discovered the footage and created a new character: Mr. Brainwash. The tapes may be real or fake label, doesn't matter. Thierry may be real, but Banksy made him a character.Some answers are seen in the DVD extras. If you look at the art of Banksy, a lot is playful, funny, and provides social comments on artists. Like the huge spray can of Tomato Spray, the huge TV monster that is a comment on Nam June Paik, abandoned shopping carts in a Monet painting, trees growing out of cars, and a plethora of mocu art. There is some very funny stuff but you will have to use the pause control on the remote to appreciate the art. Remember many artist and art critics take art far to seriously. Read an art critic on modern art. They are like Realtors and say anything to sell the art. Example: "Notice how the red wavy line is nicely juxtapositioned against the modularity of anomalies in the sectional construct of the yellow adjacent lines." signed, typical art critic.Some attribute such early art shenanigans to Duchamp and his upside down urinal titled R.MUTT.But the Exit story arch of wanna be filmmaker to wanna be graffiti artist at the expense of Banksy is really original. Banksy spoofed us and himself again, and we are really lucky to have a chance to view his film and his art. The opening of the Barely Legal art show shows Banksy art not Mr. Brainwash art.In a way, Thierry is Banksy's avatar. In one DVD extra a hooded. pixeled figure is helping Thierry hang a stencil of a bar code. Banksy is very into stencils and I believe he was helping out Mr. Brainwash.Who better to make fun of the annotated giants of art like Warhol and others, than Banksy. Jean Cocteau once said, it is the job of the artist to spoof the avant garde not the bourgeois. I think Warhol was an early Banksy as he really enjoyed putting on news people, art critics and the general public. And Banksy is heir to the throne and continues to carry the torch of modern art into the next century. Banksy is a lot like Andy Kaufman whose genius comedy transgressed reality, creating confusion as to what is real and what is constructed. Banksy is the art wold's Andy Kaufman, for Banksy also blurs the line of art/life/reality. Exit is a spoof, or is it? The truth is somewhere in the Twilight Zone.Long live Banksy.