This much anticipated profile of musician, screenwriter and novelist Nick Cave’s first 20,000 days on earth has been wowing audiences on the festival circuit since its World Premiere in Berlin in February.
A fascinating, illuminating exploration of the creative process, this British film skilfully transcends its already formidable polymath subject, appealing to a wider audience than Cave’s already substantial following. It’s a cinematic odyssey told with a rare wit and candour as we tour through Cave’s professional and personal life meeting band-mates, family, collaborators (including everyone from actor Ray Winstone to fellow-Antipodean singer Kylie Minogue) and perhaps most revealingly his psychoanalyst and of course with unprecedented access to the man himself.
The film’s directors, visual artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, have a long-standing relationship with their subject, which coupled with their flare for image making lifts this documentary well above the standard ‘talking heads’ fare of most typical musician docs.
A real treat for music lovers with more than a couple of belly laughs along the way.