Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Pierrot, Fine White Duke, Blind Prophet, the Messiah of the glam rocker, the alcoholic astronaut, the neo-expressionist painter, and the omnivorous lover—all of these identities converge into the single, elusive signifier known as David Bowie. His life was a continuous exercise in reinvention, a span that ended six years ago as he kept reshaping his art and persona until the very end.
Moonage daydream, a bold cinematic homage to this evolving figure, recently appeared out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival and opened in theaters. The film chronicles roughly four and a half years of relentless metamorphosis, assembling thousands of hours of archival material over five years. Brett Morgen, an experienced documentarian, has approached the project with a fresh, impressionistic sensibility. His previous work, Kurt Cobain: The Montage of Heck, already hinted at this approach by weaving disparate moments into a cohesive, living portrait.
atomized information
In essence, Moonage daydream does not present a traditional, linear biography. Instead, it offers a mosaic of fragments, drawing from conversations Bowie had over the years. Many sections carry a spiritual or philosophical tone, with lines like a Buddhist Tuesday followed by Nietzsche on Friday, and thoughts on the transience of existence. The film unfolds as an ever-shifting collage, blending archival clips with visual references and abstract animations. Iconic artists such as Méliès, Kubrick, Murnau, Eisenstein, Oshima, Kandinsky, Pollock, and Bacon appear in sequences that feel like windows into different eras, layered over each other in a seamless succession.
The soundtrack also anchors the experience. It features performances spanning Bowie’s early Ziggy Stardust era, the Spiders From Mars concerts of the early 1970s, and the later explorations from the Outside and Earthling phases in the 1990s. The film weaves these musical milestones into the same fabric as the visual material, creating a rhythm that moves the viewer through time while keeping the spotlight on Bowie’s evolving artistry.
music treasure
In total, about 48 songs are threaded through the narrative. The film begins with Hello Spaceboy and closes with Memory of a Free Festival. Morgen’s selections diverge from what some fans might expect, omitting certain beloved tracks in favor of a distinctive, cohesive arc. Yet the result feels brilliant and immersive. The 140-minute runtime passes with a momentum that rarely distracts, inviting devoted fans to savor the journey even as casual viewers are drawn into Bowie’s expansive creative world. In his own words within the film, Bowie described his music as an idea pudding, aiming to kickstart the 21st century long before its time in 1971.
The central message of the film is clear: Bowie’s life swings like a pendulum, alternating between the impulse to connect with audiences and the impulse to retreat into personal exploration. This tension explains, for instance, how his collaborations with Brian Eno in Berlin gave rise to both experimental sounds and more populist hits like Lets Dance and Modern Love, which propelled him into global superstardom. After years of pursuing his own aural and aesthetic preferences, he made a calculated shift toward giving the public what it seemed to want.
personal life
Bowie continued to explore and experiment, but Moonage daydream moves through these phases with a light, almost teasing touch. The film offers a partial portrait of the artist, capturing the spirit of the person while resisting a single, definitive image. It presents a mosaic that hints at a larger story—one that could fill many more films, while still inviting interpretation and curiosity from viewers who already know Bowie’s vast body of work and the many incarnations that define his legacy.