20,000 Days on Earth

source: 20,000 Days on Earth

If there's one thing this film stands out for, it's its originality. The idea to make a portrait of a rock musician by filming his 20.000th day on earth is quite unique, and it works well. After spending 24 hours with Nick Cave (crammed into 97 minutes, of course), you think you know the man a lot better than you did before. We see Cave waking up, visiting his psychiatrist to whom he tells a lot about his childhood memories, visiting the studio where he rehearses and jams with his fellow musicians, and visiting an archive where he remembers the days with his former band The Birthday Party, and shows pictures about the various stages in his career. In between, we see him driving around Brighton, chatting with some 'ghost passengers' from his past, including Blixa Bargeld and Kylie Minogue. It is quite entertaining and original. But it's also a bit self-indulgent, because this is not really a 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary, but a fully scripted and rehearsed fictional film. To hear Cave philosophizing about his work as if it's something out of his own control, comes across as a bit over the top. These are rock songs, for heaven's sake, not literature! (Although Cave might argue that these two categories don't exclude each other). So my feelings about this film are a bit mixed. On the one hand, it's a nice way to dig into the soul of a rock singer, on the other hand you've got to be really interested in the person Nick Cave to enjoy the whole movie from start to finish.

A documentary presented by Nick Cave on the subject of Nick Cave. A few full-length songs are included, which were boring. A few conversations in Cave's car between him and Ray Winstone, Kylie Minogue and a previous Bad Seeds member are also included - all of which are boring, pointless and offer no insights into Nick Cave or anything else. In between that there are some clips of Cave discussing stuff with a therapist, clips of Cave talking about people he used to know, memories etc. Lots of ramblings about where he gets inspiration from (e.g. the stormy whether in Brighton, where he now resides). Just stuff like that. I watched this because I'd read some reviews that said it is a must for anyone interested in the creative process. In actual fact I found this skirted round the issue a lot, was a very vague look at one person's way of working and was punctuated with unnecessary and uninsightful conversations. Overall I found it unhelpful from a creativity point of view and dull from a documentary/film/entertainment point of view.

The only thing I've been introduced with when it comes to Nick Cave is his score for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which is pretty much my favorite film score ever. Such soothing, haunting, mesmerizing music. In many ways, this film is exactly like that. I always find it interesting when filmmakers play around with what a documentary really is, and this does just that. It's very melancholic in its tone, very introspective. It has fascinating examples of music being created and just how much Cave puts himself into his music, while still balancing it all and not coming off like an ego project. Even for non-fans this is recommended.

Nick Cave is an interesting character. I had heard of him and his music for a couple of years. It wasn't until recently that I fell in love with his album "Push The Sky Away". This is documentary about Nick Cave so I expected the documentary to be about him. It's a bit shocking to read that he was portrayed as "pretentious". I find that a bit comical actually. This man is a musical genius! Nick Cave is an amazing performer , as I've seen him live a couple of times, so seeing this documentary put the pieces together and gives the audience a sneak peak into his personal life. First of all, the scenery where the documentary was shot is jaw dropping. The live performance in the documentary are pretty amazing . The documentary overall was shot beautifully. I'd describe this documentary as a really good lyrically pleasing song. It's inspiring . ****TINY SPOILER BUT NOT REALLY******My favorite scene was towards the end where he's walking through the dark tree-bush filled garden. What he says brought love to my ears. Nick Cave finds the words you've been thinking and meaning to say, but hard to describe in words. If you don't fully know the artist, I don't really recommend you watching it. I don't really see the purpose, you'd just be lost. This documentary isn't awful or average by far.

". . . The never-ending drip feed of eroticism" Nick Cave I'm not sure either what that quote means, but what you may get is a sense of writer/musician Nick Cave's poetic inclinations and the sensuality of his life, encapsulated in a fictional day, his 20,000 day on earth to be specific. Starring him, of course, because he is the center of his universe, and he believes, maybe a deity or an angel. He once said about his creations: "I can't explain that dividing line between nothing and something that happens within a song, where you have absolutely nothing, and then suddenly you have something. It's like the origin of the universe." This smooth fictional biography, partially narrated by Cave, first takes us in his fine car, which he always drives, to visit his therapist (scene so relaxed and interesting I wish we could have heard the results). Then lunching with band mate Warren Ellis, where the talk is mostly music, and over to an archive brimming with his memorabilia. Interspersed are performances with The Bad Seeds, from his almost Leonard Cohen-like poetic music to his Jagger-like rocking in Sydney (he's an Aussie), where the capacity crowd is fully under his spell. As he speaks through the music about its transforming power, he also shows us his struggle to bring poems and lyrics together. He once said about author vs. musician: "Musicians are at the bottom of the creative pyramid and authors are at the top, and many people think it's unacceptable for someone to attempt to jump from the bottom to the top of the pyramid." Along the way we see him and his sons eat pizza and watch Scarface. Although he seems to have little time for his family, when he does, it's relaxed just the way he presents himself to us in a film that gives much more insight into an artist's creative process than we usually get with bios. "My music has to do with beauty, and it's intended to, if not lift the spirits, then be a kind of a balm to the spirits." Nick Cave

I had an interesting opportunity to attend the L.A. premier of the new film "20,000 Days on Earth", a sort of stylish documentary film about Bad Seeds front man, Nick Cave. We were shown the film, then Nick Cave came out and did a Q&A mixed with a solo performance, that yielded some interesting insight into the film itself. The primary take away from the Q&A is that this film isn't precisely a documentary, and if it were a typical "rock 'n roll" documentary, Cave would not have agreed to do it. Instead, the film is an intimate view into Nick Cave's creative process, done in a way as to not de-mystify the Nick Cave persona. There are a few interesting scenes where it shows Cave driving with old collaborators in the car with him, and they're candidly discussing various topics. Notably, he was visited by Kylie Minogue and his former Bad Seeds guitarist, Blixa Bargeld from Einstürzende Neubauten. This film also has one of the best title sequences ever, showing a montage of Cave's life alongside the number of days passing in his life from 1 to 20,000. The film apparently was built around a studio recording the director did of The Bad Seeds recording "Higgs Boson Blues" from the latest album "Push the Sky Away". It was very well filmed and showed incredible insight into how Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds work as a band and put together their songs. Hearing this cut before it went through the mixing / mastering process, and watching Cave sort of play conductor to his orchestra is quite compelling, and honestly I could probably watch an entire film of them recording the entire album. The film also shows a lot of footage of the band jamming and feeling out new songs, showing Warren Ellis fiddling with electronic gear and effects, and Nick Cave working to get his lyrics a musical canvas. "20,000 Days on Earth" is absolutely worth watching if you're interested in getting a glimpse into the creative process of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It certainly does not go too deep into Nick Cave's personal life, as it seems he is very protective of his creative brand and persona, but that works as an asset to this film which is focused on the creative process. Nothing is demystified, but we are treated with an interesting narrative.

The world abounds with concert films and other documentaries with no greater ambition than following a famous person around for a while. These films are usually easy to put in the "superfans only" category. But maybe that wouldn't be the case if they were more like 20, 000 Days on Earth. All I can say is that, as someone who has one Nick Cave album but no vast devotion to the guy, I was entertained throughout. Part of this is simply the beauty of the images -- the directors make even the most mundane scene stun on the screen. The film takes place across one mostly ordinary day in Nick Cave's life, purportedly the 20000th, and much of the runtime is taken up by fascinating conversations Cave has with friends and collaborators. There are a lot of stagey scenes that don't hide their constructedness, such as a filmed therapy session, or a meta- cinematic moment where at the behest of the film's producers Cage goes through old pictures that will soon become part of the opening montage. And then there is the obligatory concert footage, shot in a dynamic fashion that manages to pick up all of Cave's subtle interactions with the front row and the looks of desperate adoration on the audience's faces. All of this would be for naught if Cave wasn't a fascinating subject. He plays the brooding poet here, providing ominous narration throughout the film, but there are also humanizing scenes where he watches TV with his sons or grumpily bosses around a children's choir (one of the more surreal moments here). It may be more charisma than intellect, but damn if I couldn't listen to Nick Cave talk for days. For all the directorial skill brought to 20, 000 Days on Earth, its greatest virtue may be in simply allowing us to experience two hours of Cave.

I know a few women who profess to like Nick Cave. I know no men who do. Maybe that's because on this evidence Nick is a bit of a Mummy's boy. He's also been a junkie and a university lecturer so obviously he KNOWS A LOT OF STUFF, and we mere mortals should listen because he HAS THE ELIXIR, IE he's read The Hero's Journey. Can't sing. Can't write anything meaningful. Plays the piano clumsily. He talks to his therapist, who asks, 'What is your first memory of the female body?' Nick proceeds to talk about when he was fifteen and didn't have sex. This is the man who remembers a 'happy childhood', but he has no memory of his mother's body - or any aunt - or any primary school classmate, sister or grandmother. That's why women like him; he really does miss his Mum and he's lonely. But beware - he draws lots of pictures of naked women. In between pretending to drive cars, writing terrible poetry and talking about himself to a coterie of employees, over and over and over and over and over and over again. I used to not really care about Nick Cave. Now I loathe him. He's the sort of hipster's Neil Diamond.

I really like Nick Cave. He has cameos in two of my all-time favourite films, The Assassination of Jesse James and Wings of Desire. His score for the former is my all-time favourite too, a collaboration with Warren Ellis of whom he's seen hanging out together here. This documentary, 20,000 Days On Earth, is perhaps coming a little too late or early to paint the most fascinating portrait of the rock artist, though it would have been a less catchy title. His last album is good, not great, perhaps played a little too safe. Nevertheless, his creative process is still interesting to watch as we're allowed access into the recording studio. But this isn't a straightforward documentary. It has bits of verite, fiction and interviews. It's a shame the fiction isn't as well handled and it comes off as contrived and stilted, including when the mystical celebrity cameos keep Cave company in car journeys. It's the way the film is shot too which uses the type of photography that's fit for HD TV rather than cinema though it has its moments. However, it makes up for all that for being very insightful. The interviews are no holds barred with penetratingly honest questions. Cave explains that his biggest fear is losing his memory, and I wish the film took that as its primary thesis, looking into Cave's memory instead of an irreverent day in the life. It does have its trips into nostalgia and excels in those moments. 20,000 Days On Earth is still a very good doc thanks to its subject matter, but it needed more focus and guidance. 7/10