Part documentary history of the street art movement, part commentary on the art world as a whole, and part post-modern comedy, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a difficult film to label.  

  

Directed by the elusive street artist Banksy, the film follows Thierry Guetta, an eccentric, obsessive French shop-owner turned amateur documentary filmmaker as he chronicles the burgeoning street art movement.  

Beginning with Guetta’s initial outings with his cousin, an artist who goes by the name Space Invader, and continuing as he moves deeper into the street art movement Exit Through The Gift Shop becomes more about the man behind the camera than the subjects he’s filming.  

The filmmaker sets out on a quest to film the biggest figures in street art which leads him to the notoriously private Banksy. Eventually tracking him down, Guetta begines to serve as something in between a documentarian and an apprentice for the artist. It is here that the film begins its transformation from street art documentary to something else entirely. 

What began as a film about Banksy and his contemporaries becomes a story about the strange man who set out to uncover their world. Though the film’s first act features some fascinating footage and interviews with the luminaries of the street art world - including some great scenes following Shepard Fairey working undercover in Los Angeles - once Banksy is in the picture, the focus of the film undergoes some drastic changes. 

After filming Banksy working several of his undercover art projects, the artist begins to get curious about what the strange Frenchman has been filming for. When it becomes apparent that Guetta knows very little about taking the massive amounts of footage he has captured and turning them into something watchable, Banksy takes the reins. The result is Exit Through The Gift Shop. 

This story-within-a-story is just the beginning of the twists and turns in this film. I’m remiss to spoil anything as this is a film best watched knowing as little as possible, but suffice to say, the third act raises a great many questions. The story of Guetta’s journey into the world of street art results in questions of the value of art, the concept of originality, and a damning condemnation of the art world.