Filmstelle

The humble storeowner Thierry Guetta has one great passion in life: filming the world around him. Thierry becomes the community’s unofficial chronicler when his cousin introduces him to the emerging street art scene. His incessant desire to record everything eventually puts him into contact with the elusive Banksy, who takes the eccentric cameraman along on his clandestine prowls. But when Thierry’s documentary project threatens to become a disaster, Banksy turns the tables on his new friend and suggests he become an artist himself. While Thierry rises to fame under the pseudonym of Mr. Brainwash, Banksy charts his bizarre ascent in a documentary of his own.

But is that really how it happened? Secrecy has always been a crucial part of Banksy’s allure. No other living artist has inspired so much idle speculation about his background. Instead of elucidating the man behind the myth, Exit Through the Gift Shop gleefully engages in some mythmaking of its own, presenting us with a madcap story of stardom and alter egos that poke fun at the self-importance of the art world while constantly keeping us guessing. Is Thierry a real person? Is Banksy? Don’t expect to find any clear-cut answers in this subversive anti- documentary, but expect a wildly entertaining ride.

Mischa Haberthür