Review of Moonage Daydream (2022) by Calvincrack — 17 Sep 2022

This is one of those films where when you see the finished result it’s hard to even fathom how much work went into creating it. This is an Olympic gold medal feat of editing. Just give the man an Oscar.

If you’re a Bowie fan, this is a must see. If you’re not, I would still recommend it for being an inspirational portrait of an artist who has a ton of wisdom to share. While this film may not contain the literal answers to all the questions we may have about David Bowie’s life and career, it gives us a greater understanding of the person so as to dissolve many questions we may have.

Here he is in his glory for 135 minutes, what more can you ask? Would 1000 minutes of footage have been more revelatory? Yes, but there’s something to be said for getting to the heart of the matter sooner than that.

“The Beatles Get Back” is an example of the fly-on-the-wall, day-in-the-life approach which is fascinating in its own right and lets you get to know the artists as they are. Moonage Daydream takes a more cinematic, abstract approach to unpacking a man from the myth he presented us in his art, and since his art played an important role in him getting to understand himself, I think a collage of his work is a novel approach to revealing the person who made it.