20,000 Days on Earth (2014)

Directed by: Iain Forsyth / Jane Pollard
Country: UK

Movie Review: British artists and documentary filmmakers, Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, bring us an interesting look on Australian musician, songwriter and author, Nick Cave, who celebrates on the screen his 20,000th day on earth by sharing some of his personal life and the creative process that followed him along the years. Cave, as an open book, seemed to have made everything easy for the filmmakers, since he talks without reservation or concerns about his relation with his wife Suzie, his twin sons, his beloved hometown – Brighton, early memories of his first sexual experience, his childhood and particularly his father, his past on drugs and brief interest for religion, and his past days in Berlin and how he was influenced by the weather in England. This is what concerns his private life, but then comes the explanations about how a big transformation occurs while performing live, the interaction and commitment in studio, telling us amazing happenings in weird concerts and how his first band, The Birthday Party, attracted all the type of psychopaths and weirdoes. His writings are also referred, his fertile imagination that creates worlds of violence, monstrous creatures and odd characters. Conversations with his friend and band mate Warren Ellis, as well as with Kylie Minogue, among others, can be followed. At the sound of intense songs (most of them performed live) loaded with nostalgia and feverous, creepy stories, “20,000 Days on Earth” is certainly a treat for Nick Cave’s fans but can also be a mild experience for the others. Never exploitative, this work was done with smartness and accuracy.