MOONAGE DAYDREAM (2022)

Directed by Brett Morgen



Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres IMAX, September 18, 2022 12:20 PM



I still remember clearly the complete shock and disbelief I felt when I heard the news that David Bowie, the influential, enigmatic rock-star alien, had passed away in 2016. With his sensual, otherworldly essence, he gave the impression that he would simply exist forever. Bowie even released a complete new album, "Black Star" two days after he died. At only sixty-nine, the British performance artist, although best known for his innovative music also painted and acted on stage and screen, seemed to have his life tragically cut far too soon. As a musician, Bowie was a true chameleon, continuously shifting and expanding the possibilities of rock & roll. And using his lithe body as a colorful, exhilarating canvas, he helped alter the rigid ideology on gender norms and visual presentation.

Brett Morgen, the filmmaker who has created meditative non-fiction works that have largely focused on seminal figures in pop culture like Hollywood producer, Bob Evans; the still rocking, The Rolling Stones; primatologist, Jane Goodall and the late rock performer, Kurt Cobain, has set his sights on Bowie. "Moonage Daydream", a wildly kinetic mosaic of sound and vision, reflects on the creative life of the rock musician told in his own words, assembled through a series of interviews the artist had given throughout his lengthy career.

Broken up through the different eras of Bowie's intriguing artistic journey, we begin expectedly yet briefly with his early days as an androgynous, shaggy haired mod-rocker before morphing into the genderqueer space alien with a mullet of flaming red-hair, backed-up with his hard-rocking band, the Spiders from Mars. Following this first brush with massive stardom, Bowie shifted gears, not wanting to be defined by Ziggy Stardust, moving into Aladdin Sane with the now-iconic album cover image of the colorful lighting bolt across his face. After a few more albums, he abandoned glam-rock altogether, moving into the Thin White Duke phase and "plastic soul", his homage to American r&b and soul music. Trying to escape years of deep drug addiction in Los Angeles, Bowie heads to Europe, ending up in Germany. Clear-eyed and inspired, he begins to experiment with electronic, ambient sounds, creating a trio of albums later referred to as the "Berlin Trilogy".

With "Moonage Daydream", which is the title of the 1971 song that introduces us to Ziggy Stardust, Morgen has crafted a masterful work of art that poetically explores the roots of Bowie's considerable, wide-ranging artistry. Serving also as editor and utilizing a collision of expressionistic effects, he effectively has Bowie discuss many of his influences and motivations while visualizing his tremendous impact throughout using zippy fast-cuts of various media with the musician's work as a musician and actor. This is the first film about Bowie that has been authorized by his estate, allowing Morgen to use all of his music and have access to Bowie's extensive footage from his personal archives, much of it rarely seen before publicly. Tony Visconti, a musician and producer who had worked with Bowie since his second album in 1969, serves as the film's music producer, helping to put together previously unreleased live tracks with newly created remixed songs for the soundtrack .

Throughout each of his aesthetic and musical transformations, Bowie is revealed to be a true trendsetter and innovator, boldly expressing a queer, rebellious spirit by becoming the face of bisexual chic, wearing make-up and normalizing crossdressing at a time when the world was even less open to such provocative acts. Bowie realized early the power of using short-form film to create alluring imagery and enhance his musical vision, long before people began wanting their MTV in 1981. And he was a natural additional to the music channel which helped propel him into becoming a major pop music superstar with his worldwide smash album, "Let's Dance". Yet the intense pressure and high expectations of this type of fame made Bowie retreat back into his comfort zone of more esoteric musical stylings.

My only real criticism about "Moonage Daydream" would be it's length. While I would be of the mindset that there could never be too much Bowie yet after a while during the one hundred and forty minute runtime, the film does begin to drag a bit and feel overextended largely due to the unstructured format. And I was also left to wonder about the complete exclusion to mention some of the many people, friends, family and colleagues, who contributed significantly to Bowie's success. Thinking this was a creative decision until I saw the segment dedicated to his romance to Iman, the Somali supermodel who is Bowie's widow and love of his life.

Yet is seems strange to completely omit any mention of Angela Bowie, his free-spirited, first wife who clearly had some influence over his early image and opened his mind to a broader, more alternative lifestyle. And she is the mother of his first child, Duncan, now a filmmaker, who went by "Zowie" for the first ten years of his life. The couple both acknowledged their relationship was highly tumultuous with Bowie later admitting that he had married her so she could work in Britain. But they were together for a decade so there might have been something that could have been said, if only briefly.

If you were looking for a documentary filled with warm remembrances by several talking heads, straightforward live performances or salacious details regarding Bowie's drug abuse and various romantic flings, then you will certainly be disappointed. Morgen was far more interested in creating an introspective, visually explosive experience. "Moonage Daydream" is a thrilling, experimental celebration of a true creative genius told in a mesmerizing, deconstructed way that I think the musician would have greatly appreciated.