Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

The story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. The film contains... See full summary »

Director:

Banksy

Stars:

Banksy, Mr. Brainwash, Debora Guetta

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 16 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Banksy	...	Himself
Mr. Brainwash	...	Himself (as Thierry Guetta aka Mister Brainwash)
Debora Guetta	...	Herself
Monsieur André	...	Himself
Zeus	...	Himself
Shepard Fairey	...	Himself
Ron English	...	Himself
Caledonia Curry	...	Herself (as Swoon)
Borf	...	Himself
Buffmonster	...	Himself
Steve Lazarides	...	Himself
Wendy Asher	...	Herself
Roger Gastman	...	Himself
Laurent Nahoum-Vatinet	...	Himself
Amanda Fairey	...	Herself

Storyline

The story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. The film contains footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work.

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Plot Keywords:

artist | graffiti artist | street artist | graffiti | eccentric | 

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Taglines:

The world's first Street Art disaster movie.

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Genres:

Documentary | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [de] Official Facebook [es]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

5 March 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

Banksy - Exit Through the Gift Shop

Filming Locations:

Disneyland Park, Disneyland Resort - 1600 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$170,756 (USA) (16 April 2010)

Gross:

$3,290,582 (USA) (29 October 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paranoid Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Banksy's former spokesman Steve Lazarides on whether or not the film is a spoof: "I think the joke is on... I don't know who the joke is on, really. I don't even know if there is a joke".

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Quotes

Banksy: Most artists take years to develop their style, Thierry seemed to miss out on all those bits.

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Crazy Credits

At the end says "No elephants were harmed during the making of this movie" referring to Banksy's US expo.

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Kelly Watch The Stars"
Performed by Air

User Reviews

A great little documentary

I came into this as a complete neutral. I knew of some street artists, but not many, and liked the Banksy murals and oils that I had seen. I came away from the film impressed.

Firstly and most importantly it's entertaining. It's smart, charismatic and at times quite, quite funny. But its also a film that leaves a lasting impression as it has an ending that is a bit ambiguous as to whether it is a prank or not. It is a film of two halves - both halves providing great PR for the street artists. The first half is a documentary of several street artists. The street artists are likable and unpretentious. Their message is unmistakable and runs along the lines of 'We enjoy what we do and hope you do'. And I must admit I did. Top of this pile is Banksy. Obviously incredibly talented and laugh out loud, he steals the show as the docu focuses on his palestinian wall art, his Disneyland prank and the LA Show. Its impressive stuff. Now the ambiguous second half. Thierry, the filmmaker, himself, becomes an artist and the film takes great pleasure in showing how awful he is. Despite this he manages to put on a successful show in LA. Instantly it becomes a satire on contemporary art and how the art buying public are sometimes unable to distinguish between good and bad art. What is ambiguous here is the authenticity of Thierry, aka Mr Brainwash, Is this a prank where he is deliberately awful, or is he genuinely oblivious to his awfulness. Well you will have to watch it to form your own opinion. I guarantee at the very least you'll have an enjoyable hour and a half forming that opinion