Best Reviews

[Florina Codreanu]

Dear ALL,

Please welcome the best reviews written by the brightest urban minds
proven;))...


Banksy - Exit Through the Gift Shop
by Alexandra Giurgiu


I have to admit I was quite sceptical at the beginning, for I am a
great admirer of street art, but I stand on the side of those who
claim that the stencilling technique is more a form of “cheating” when
compared to graffiti drawings. But, a second after I heard “It's
nothing here to bind you, it's no way for life to start/Do you know
that tonight the streets are ours “, lyrics from the film’s opening
song, I felt the next hour and a half will certainly strike me with an
amount of raw truth about all those artists who gave birth to what we
call today “urban culture”.

I couldn’t be more wrong. “Banksy - Exit Through the Gift Shop” is
not a documentary about how the street art emerged, but how the street
art is perceived by a daffy Frenchman living in Los Angeles, Thierry
Guetta, who becomes obsessed with videotaping absolutely everything
after his mother’s sudden death when he was just a child. Thierry is
introduced to this world by his cousin, Space Invader, and never stops
from recording every major graffiti practitioner he stumbles upon
(Shepard Fairey, Invader, Ron English, Borf). In this whirling quest,
Guetta meets Britain’s urban legend, the street master, Bansky. With
his identity shrouded in darkness, Bansky coordinates all Guetta’s
movements along the art scene. He becomes the main reason for Thierry
deciding to open a street art exhibition by himself.

It seems Fate is a good-humoured gal and lets Parody interfere with
Thierry’s luck. His unexpected ascension in the street art world
becomes a satire of a man who, without having made any other works,
launches an art show where his style is visibly more than just
influenced, but rather copied from the street art titans. As the
mockery unfolds before our eyes, the mob of rich and famous, all
present at Guetta’s exhibition, crowns the French jester as an
overnight millionaire. At the end, Banksy realizes that his constant
encouragement and the idea of Thierry’s uniqueness, which led to the
birth of this new “artist”, will never to come out again by helping
someone to make a recording about street art’s life.

Although Guetta proved to be an awful filmmaker, he captured on his
tapes priceless footage about this new-born, sometimes aggressive
style of life, whose supporters put the basis of the urban culture.
Dusty streets, pits in the asphalt, skyscrapers, traffic congestion
and racing heartbeats every time the police forces are near a
potential drawing wall. All these come along with the need of this
generation to shock. “Vandals”, as some street artist are known, are
actually glorified because of their anti-capitalist and rebellious
undertones, their works being fought over by auctioneers, collectors
and museum directors all over the world.

Despite all, I would recommend this film to others for the simple fact
that “Exit Through the Gift Shop” was wonderfully entertaining,
allowing me to laugh at the doltish but fortunate Thierry Guetta and
not keeping me from wondering who the still-mysterious Banksy really
is?


Exit through the gift shop – directed by Banksy
by Maria Ghiurutan


“Maybe it means art is a bit of a joke…” and this is why I believe
that “Exit through the gift shop” is rather a satire addressed to the
contemporary art world, a world devoured by consumerism and inhabited
by opinionless human beings who would rather go with the flow than
develop their own set of values and I am not referring here to the
artists themselves, but rather to the large crowds who would buy
anything as long as it is “in” at a certain moment.

The movie depicts several artists, including the legendary Space
Invader, Shepard Fairey and Banksy – a mysterious yet iconic figure of
street art through the lenses of a Frenchman’s video camera who also
gets to steal the show through shameless self-promotion – he considers
himself an artist, yet he does not even make his art, he has an entire
crew who is designated for this purpose. Nonetheless, one particular
strength of the film consists in the elements of urban culture which
make appearance during the movie: from stencils to tile mosaics, from
sculptures to paintings, they surely offer an insight into the world
of street art whilst also giving food for thought.

And what about Banksy? Which were his intentions regarding Thierry
Guetta, aka Mister Brainwash, the egocentric, foolish yet charismatic
Frenchman who gets to wander around different street artists all
whilst filming them, using as an excuse the fact that he is planning
to make a film based on street art? When Guetta showed Banksy an
unwatchable film entitled “Life Remote Control”, the artist decided to
take upon himself the job of remaking the movie using Guetta’s
footage. He also suggests Thierry to create some art on his own and to
put up an exhibition, thus transforming him into the main focus of the
film. I am still debating whether he used Guetta as an epitome of what
art has become nowadays – obnoxious, meaningless and unoriginal but
buyable as long as it is wanted by the masses, as long as it is “in”,
or not, but either way the movie gives the vibe of a parody – the
perfect medium for defining the perception of art for certain groups
of people who regard it as a way to impress and who lead their life by
the creed “Just buy it for the hype”.

Even though I would definitely give it a try, the movie in itself is
not a definite must-see. Yet it offers an interesting perspective
regarding the world of street art and makes you wonder “Is art being
murdered by consumerism?” I would like to believe that there is still
hope but the movie leaves you no choice but to admit that there are
people who regard art as a joke and that there will also be someone to
buy it. So, if you have some free time and would like something which
will give you food for thought, this movie is surely one of the
options.


Exit through the gift shop
by Oana Borza


“Exit through the Gift Shop” is a movie directed by Bansky, a famed
British graffiti artist and shows the story of a French immigrant,
Thierry Guetta and his obsession with street art. In consequence, a
great emphasis is put in the movie on urban culture and its effects on
today’s world. The movie is set in a variety of locations such as
Paris and London and presents different types of street artists like
Space Invader and Shepard Fairey.
What is striking about this film is the way in which it presents a
world that many people are not aware of. It also explains what artists
understand through street art, the most important countercultural
movement since punk. They see it as a way of doing something that they
love and expressing themselves. Furthermore, street art is a hybrid
form of graffiti which uses posters, stickers and sculptures
(basically any means the artists need in order to make their mark).
In addition, the elements of urban culture that can be seen throughout
the movie such as: the Internet, all the materials the artists use in
order to distinguish themselves, the outlook of the cities as they are
changing as graffiti art evolves, the naivety of the people who spend
large amounts of money on things that have no real value (the works of
Guetta who is only beginning to be an artist, has not yet defined his
style and copies the others) and the false impression that anybody can
become an artist even though perhaps they have no real talent somehow
intensify the feeling of amazement at the fascinating way in which the
film is produced.
Furthermore, the characters are all believable and make you realise
the way in which the life of street artists, who take all kind of
risks in order to be able to show their work, takes place. However,
there is also an element of parody in this documentary, which makes it
all more interesting and compelling. We are shown how somebody who has
never done any street art manages to become highly successful only by
following the most famous artists there are. What is more, Guetta even
surpasses them in his success, which is even more ironic. Moreover,
Bansky’s role in all this is essential. He was the one that suggested
Guetta to open a small gallery with his paintings, without being aware
of what was to come. In the end, he regretted his role in showing
Thierry the real street art world and decided not to help anyone else
get there. Perhaps the fact that throughout the movie Bansky did not
show his face and his voice was distorted is not only because he is so
secretive, but also because he is embarrassed of what he had created.
I would thoroughly recommend this movie to everyone due to the fact
that it provides a fresh opportunity to learn more about urban culture
and the risky trade of street art that is both exhilarating and
stimulating. You will be impressed by it and will want to suggest it
to other people as well.