It wasn’t until a few years ago that I heard of a concept called paracosm. That’s a term for a sort of world-building that you do in your mind, often originating in your childhood. This universe in your mind might blend made-up characters with real-world people and circumstances. This alternate reality can stay with a person for a short time, or years, remaining far into adulthood. I was awe-struck reading about something that had always been part of me, but that I had never discussed with anyone or heard about before.
I was reminded of this while watching Moonage Daydream, a visionary documentary about David Bowie. In the film, there’s an interview clip with him from 1979 where he’s talking about how he appreciates being alone. That’s when he’s in full contact with the worlds and ideas of his mind. In that moment, I have rarely felt closer to Bowie.
A piece of cinematic art
That the interview is from 1979 is something I know because I found a YouTube clip. If you’re looking for a lot of information and facts about David Bowie, you haven’t come to the right place. Wildly ambitious, Moonage Daydream is itself a piece of cinematic art that is best enjoyed in a theater where its colorful images and superior sound mix makes the film into quite a trip. Loosely divided into three sections, it takes us from Bowie’s beginnings in glam rock to his artistic education in places like West Berlin and Japan, to his 1980s where a more mature performer finds new ways to express himself and finally finds life-altering love in the shape of Iman.
Director Brett Morgen, who in previous films depicted the Rolling Stones, Jane Goodall and Kurt Cobain, among others, was never interested in a traditional documentary and got permission from Bowie’s estate to create something that focused on the artist’s media, including concert clips, films, sound recordings and interviews with him, not people talking about Bowie.
Explosion of images
It is indeed an immersive experience, especially to fans of Bowie who can fill in the gaps for themselves. There’s a lot in Bowie’s life and career that is never broached here, for instance the fact that he was married once before, a relationship that affected his music and also resulted in the birth of Duncan Jones, his son who became a filmmaker, but is never mentioned here. Movies that Bowie appeared in are frequently used here, but newcomers won’t learn anything about it. Those clips blend with an explosion of images from the history of cinema, Bowie’s video art and footage of him, all meticulously compiled and edited by Morgen during several years, a time period when he also suffered a heart attack and isolated himself because of the pandemic.
In many ways a tremendous achievement where Bowie’s philosophy and musings became a guiding voice for Brett Morgen
Moonage Daydream leaves me feeling a little less than bowled over, but it certainly has value as a cinematic treat and is quite a gift for fans. In many ways a tremendous achievement where Bowie’s philosophy and musings became a guiding voice for Morgen – as it might be for those of you in the audience who can look past an exhausting running time and don’t really need insight into Bowie’s life from those who are not part of the artist’s mind.
Moonage Daydream 2022-Germany-U.S. 140 min. Color-B/W. Produced, written, directed and edited by Brett Morgen.
Last word: “It’s a maximalist film, it’s definitely kaleidoscopic and it really embraces the idea of being a piece of immersive entertainment. My inspiration for this project was probably more my experiences at the planetarium [at Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles] seeing the Pink Floyd Laserium and going on those inside-theme-park rides at Disneyland than any specific movie. But you know, I’ve been to Disneyland on acid and it’s kind of awesome, so…” (Morgen, The Guardian)
