Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy, 2010) ***1/2

Much time has been spent debating whether the events documented in Exit Through the Gift Shop are authentic or an elaborate hoax perpetrated by the filmmaker. In fact, there has even been debate about whether this film really qualifies as a documentary. The answer to the first questiom is who cares? The film is so much fun that it works either way. The answer to the second question is of course it's a documentary and a fantastic one at that.

Thierry Guetta doesn't go anywhere without his video camera and is obsessed with filming everything he can. He eventually gains the respect of underground street artists and films them as they risk arest to create their works of art. Guetta eventually gets access to Banksy (whose face is never seen), perhaps the most well known artist in his genre. In one of the more fascinating segments of the film, Guetta films Banksy's Guantanamo Bay project, wherein he places a inflatable dummy prisoner within the confines of Disneyland's Thunder Mountain Railroad ride.

The film really takes off when Banksy persuades Guetta to make a film from all the footage he has captured, but is eventually disappointed by the finished product, a hilarious overly pretentious mess. Then the roles get reversed, as Banksy takes over to fix the film and Guetta decides to try his hand at art under the name Mr. Brainwash. The film is filled with wonderful surprises from here on out. Banksy begins to explore how mass marketing can influence critical thinking and make just about anyone a wild success.

Of course, there's the possibility that this section of the film is built around a hoax perpetrated by Banksy, who may be using Guetta as a front to make a large satirical argument. It would certainly fit his MO to make a point in such a manner. If he has done this, then I say bravo to him. As presented in the film, Guetta is an engaging person who definitely has the mad inspiration to have done this all on his own. It's a fantastic development in the film and that doesn't change no matter what Banksy is up to.

The debate over whether or not this is a docmentary is rather silly. Stuff like this pops up every now and then, especially when Michael Moore makes a movie that is not completely based in fact and conservatives like to quip that makes them not documentaries. This kind of criticism comes from an outdated view of what a documentary can and should be, suggesting that the academic Ken Burns style is the only valid format. But the best documentaries take real footage from real events and use that to fashion compelling narratives, and that's what Banksy has done here.