In the first documentary made with the support of the heirs of the legendary rock star, Brett Morgen immerses himself in the audiovisual universe of the author of ‘Life on Mars’.
What a relief to confirm that, despite the avalanche of material at his disposal, someone always as sharp as Brett Morgen has once again avoided the usual wiki-docu: informative, illustrative… If this expert in excessive figures and unique creative universes (Robert Evans, Cobain, Goodall, the Rolling Stones…) had never released a typical pseudo-journalistic documentary, it was not expected that he would do so when facing David Bowie; an artistic entity whose caliber and heterogeneity, if it doesn’t ask for something, is a macro-reportage type ‘The Sparks Brothers’ (E. Wright, 2021) –substantial, yes, but a reportage after all–.
Ignoring common rockumentary resources and clichés (talking heads, biographical milestones, anecdotes, social context, covers and archival exhibition in television ‘cake’ plan), Morgen elaborates a punch of lysergic acid without gloss or exegesis in its formula that aspires to sensory overload and plunges you into the cosmos of the character without didactic parachutes, evoking Kenneth Anger or Adam Curtis rather than the best possible ‘Weekly Report’.
For those who prefer an ‘experience documentary’ to a report
DATA SHEET
Address: Brett Morgan Country: United States, USA Year: 2022 Release date: 30–09-2022 Gender: Drama Script: Brett Morgan Duration: 135 minutes
Synopsis: It is the first film fully supported by David Bowie’s estate, which has allowed Brett Morgen access to his huge collection. Told through magnificent, kaleidoscopic images and hitherto unknown performances – anchored by the words and music of David Bowie – it invites viewers to plunge into a unique world, the world of “Bowie”. As of 2017, Brett Morgen immersed himself in a collection of some five million items, including never-before-seen drawings, recordings, films, and diaries. The director spent four years editing the film and another 18 months designing the soundscape, animations, and color palette.
Source: Fotogramas
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
