Part documentary/part joke (I have no proof of anything I'm saying) EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP is the story of a quirky clothing shop owner, Thierry, who video tapes everything in his life and by accident he gets involved with a few street graffiti artists and begins documenting their work or is it their vandalisms? Eventually he graduates to helping them. During this time the reputation of a highly secretive guy named Banksy starts to grow and he soon becomes the most famous street artist of all time. Thierry eventually meets him, they become friends and Banksy allows Thierry to tape him at work.
There's quite a bit more to the story than just that, but I'm not going to give it all away. I liked this movie and was completely entertained the entire time, but it never felt like a real documentary. I felt that, even though there were actual events unfolding onscreen, a lot of the story was a joke. Maybe I'm wrong, but I really don't care enough to even research it.
When I sat down to watch this movie I wanted to learn about Banksy. The story of his life, his influences, his philosophy, his goals, what he thought about Orwell's 1984, did he read Answer Me! growing up, but it didn't answer any of those questions. Instead the movie is like 40% Banksy and 60% Thierry. And that was a mistake, cause Banksy is the main attraction to the movie. It damn sure isn't Thierry! The artwork he produced at the end of the movie was fucking horrendous, but I think that was the point. Or was it? I have no clue.
