Movie Review: Exit Through the Gift Shop

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Director: Banksy
Year: 2010
Genre: Documentary
Notable Cast: Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Thierry Guetta
Netflix Link: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Quote to Note: I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore.

Review: I don't usually watch a lot of documentaries, but this one intrigued me. I knew nothing of Banksy prior to this movie so I wasn't really sure what to expect. From the movie poster I thought it was going to be about homeless people. It turns out it's about the underground culture of street art (or graffiti). It really was fascinating watching how these artists go about their craft. It's dangerous, illegal, and highly creative, even bordering on genius when referring to Banksy's work. They also take an interesting approach to the film by creating a "fictional" character who is filming a documentary about street art and use his story to illuminate the work of the real artists. Of course there are boats in this movie, the people creating these works are generally creating them in large metropolitan areas, which infers ports, which further infers boats. Banksy also makes a piece of art that depicts death rowing a sailboat (it was my personal favorite).

Score:
(8.5 Nolte Heads out of 10)