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Chess is described as a game of strategy. One that requires patience and long-term "planning" as each player positions their pieces strategically to achieve the final goal. Because of this, a lot of people find it tough to learn or follow, or consider it unrewarding because of its "long-term" focus. When amateur filmmaker and aspiring street artist Thierry Guetta compares life to a game of chess after admitting he doesn't know how to play it, well, that probably gives you an idea of his general approach to his work.
Exit Through the Gift Shop chronicles the evolution and rise of Guetta from French immigrant and small businessman to street art sensation. Directed by mysterious street artist Banksy, you can see Guetta bounce and stumble from "passion" to "obsession", and viceversa. From his obsession with carrying a camera and filming everything and his subsequent venture into the world of street art, to his obsession with meeting Banksy and his eventual desire to become a street artist himself.
This is a captivating documentary that captures the essence of what could be a madman or a genius, or both. Banksy presents both sides to Guetta's personality, starting with the way he earned the respect of street artists around the world by joining them in nocturnal escapades and daring stunts. But halfway through, he shifts to show a more worrying side of Guetta, a side that's probably more obsessed with an endgame, whatever that is, than with the craft itself.
Guetta is a captivating figure himself precisely because you can't really figure him out. At some point, some of the interviewees argue that he has possible mental issues, all while we see people from all walks of life pay thousands and millions of dollars for his stuff. As we see his crazed rise to fame, which some think disregards what street art means and stands for, another interviewer wonders "who the joke's on" or even "if there is a joke".
Ultimately, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary about a man who I might say doesn't know what he's doing, but is still bold enough to play the game in order to do *something*. He might not know how to play chess, but he's still moving his pieces, hoping that they land in the right place. And as far as he's concerned, so far they have.
Grade:
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
(2010, Banksy)
Freebie
(2010, Banksy)
Freebie
"I don't know how to play chess, but to me, life is like a game of chess."
Chess is described as a game of strategy. One that requires patience and long-term "planning" as each player positions their pieces strategically to achieve the final goal. Because of this, a lot of people find it tough to learn or follow, or consider it unrewarding because of its "long-term" focus. When amateur filmmaker and aspiring street artist Thierry Guetta compares life to a game of chess after admitting he doesn't know how to play it, well, that probably gives you an idea of his general approach to his work.
Exit Through the Gift Shop chronicles the evolution and rise of Guetta from French immigrant and small businessman to street art sensation. Directed by mysterious street artist Banksy, you can see Guetta bounce and stumble from "passion" to "obsession", and viceversa. From his obsession with carrying a camera and filming everything and his subsequent venture into the world of street art, to his obsession with meeting Banksy and his eventual desire to become a street artist himself.
This is a captivating documentary that captures the essence of what could be a madman or a genius, or both. Banksy presents both sides to Guetta's personality, starting with the way he earned the respect of street artists around the world by joining them in nocturnal escapades and daring stunts. But halfway through, he shifts to show a more worrying side of Guetta, a side that's probably more obsessed with an endgame, whatever that is, than with the craft itself.
Guetta is a captivating figure himself precisely because you can't really figure him out. At some point, some of the interviewees argue that he has possible mental issues, all while we see people from all walks of life pay thousands and millions of dollars for his stuff. As we see his crazed rise to fame, which some think disregards what street art means and stands for, another interviewer wonders "who the joke's on" or even "if there is a joke".
Ultimately, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary about a man who I might say doesn't know what he's doing, but is still bold enough to play the game in order to do *something*. He might not know how to play chess, but he's still moving his pieces, hoping that they land in the right place. And as far as he's concerned, so far they have.
Grade: