Nick Cave isn't exactly the kind of guy you expect to see in a "talking heads" documentary. You know the type. Grainy archival footage, a few weeping relatives, and a narrator telling you why the 1980s were a "pivotal time" for post-punk. If you went into the 20000 days on earth movie expecting that, you probably walked out very confused or very delighted.
The film isn't a biography. Honestly, it’s more like a dream that Nick Cave decided to invite a camera crew into. It follows a "day in the life" of Cave as he hits his 20,000th day on this planet—roughly 54 years, seven months, and some change. But here’s the kicker: none of it is strictly "real."
Why 20000 days on earth movie Isn't Your Standard Rock Doc
Most music documentaries try to tear down the mask. They want the "real" person. Directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard took the opposite route. They realized that for an artist like Cave, the mask is the real person. The movie is a "drama-documentary" or a "pseudo-documentary." It’s scripted. It’s staged. Yet, it feels more honest than a thousand VH1 Behind the Music episodes.
You see Cave waking up. He’s in bed with his wife, Susie Cave. The lighting is perfect. Too perfect. He narrates in that deep, gravelly baritone about "cannibalizing" his own life for songs. It’s a bit pretentious, sure, but Cave owns it. He’s basically telling us that his life is a performance, so why should his documentary be any different?
The Car Rides with Ghosts
One of the weirdest and best parts of the 20000 days on earth movie involves Cave driving a vintage Jaguar through the rain-slicked streets of Brighton. As he drives, people from his past just... appear in the passenger seat.
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- Kylie Minogue: They talk about their iconic duet "Where the Wild Roses Grow." It’s not a standard interview; it’s two icons discussing the nature of fame while looking out a rainy windshield.
- Ray Winstone: The actor (who starred in The Proposition, which Cave wrote) chats with him about the terror of being on stage.
- Blixa Bargeld: Former Bad Seed and industrial music legend. Their conversation about leaving the band is awkward and haunting.
The trick is that while the setup is fake—Cave wasn't actually driving; the car was on a trailer—the conversations were mostly unscripted. It creates this bizarre "in-between" space. It’s a movie that admits it's a movie.
The Therapy Session and the "Archive"
There's a scene where Cave sits down with a psychoanalyst, Darian Leader. You might think, "Oh, okay, here’s the real stuff." But even this is a construct. Cave had never met Leader before the cameras rolled. He spent two days in that office, being grilled about his father’s death and his first sexual encounters.
Cave talks about how his father died when he was 19, leaving a "vacuum" that he filled with words. It’s heavy. It’s raw. But because we know the setting is staged, you’re constantly wondering: is this Nick Cave, or is this "Nick Cave" the character?
The Brighton Archive (That Doesn't Exist)
In the film, Cave visits a massive, meticulously organized "Nick Cave Archive" in Brighton. He looks through old photos of The Birthday Party and early Bad Seeds gigs. He tells a story about a fan who climbed on stage and... well, relieved himself.
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But here’s a fact most people miss: that archive isn't real. It was a set built by the production team. There is no physical Nick Cave museum in Brighton where you can browse his journals. By creating a fake archive to show real photos, Forsyth and Pollard perfectly sum up what the 20000 days on earth movie is trying to do. It uses fiction to house the truth.
The Creative Process: Pizza, Scarface, and Warren Ellis
If you want to see the "Dad" version of Nick Cave, the movie gives you a glimpse. There’s a scene where he’s sitting on the couch with his twin boys, Arthur and Earl, watching Scarface and eating pizza. It’s a rare moment of domesticity. Of course, even here, they are watching a hyper-violent gangster movie, which feels very "on brand."
The most electric scenes, however, are with Warren Ellis.
Warren is Cave’s right-hand man, the wild-haired multi-instrumentalist who seems to share a brain with him. We see them in the studio recording Push the Sky Away. We see them eating lunch (eel, apparently) while Warren tells a hilarious, rambling story about Nina Simone and a piece of chewing gum.
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- The Studio: You get to see the song "Higgs Boson Blues" come together.
- The Interaction: It’s clear that their relationship is the engine of Cave’s modern career.
- The Insight: It shows that creativity isn't always a lone wolf in a room; it’s a conversation.
Critical Reception and Why It Still Matters
When the movie premiered at Sundance in 2014, it blew people away. It won the Directing and Editing awards in the World Cinema Documentary category. Critics loved it because it broke the rules.
The 20000 days on earth movie currently holds a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Why? Because it’s visually stunning. Cinematographer Erik Wilson shot it on widescreen, making Brighton look like a neo-noir film set. It doesn’t look like a documentary; it looks like a masterpiece.
Is it for everyone?
Kinda. If you hate Nick Cave’s music, you’ll probably find it incredibly self-indulgent. It’s a movie about a man who is very, very interested in his own myth. But even if you aren't a "Cave-head," the film works as a study of how anyone creates anything. It’s about the grind of songwriting, the fragility of memory, and the fear of losing your muse.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Filmmakers
If you're planning to watch—or re-watch—this film, or if you're a creator looking for inspiration, keep these things in mind:
- Don't look for "The Truth": Accept that everything in the film is a curated version of reality. You'll enjoy it more if you view it as a long-form music video or a tone poem.
- Focus on the Editing: Pay attention to how the film jumps between the recording studio and the live performance of "Higgs Boson Blues." It’s a masterclass in building tension.
- Listen to the Narrations: The voiceover is adapted from Cave’s actual notebooks. It’s essentially his philosophy on life and art.
- Check the Soundtrack: The film features several tracks from Push the Sky Away. Listen to the album before or after watching to see how the "myth" translates to the music.
The 20000 days on earth movie ends with Cave performing at the Sydney Opera House. He’s a shaman, a showman, and a tired middle-aged man all at once. It doesn't give you a neat summary of his life because his life isn't over. It just gives you 24 hours of a very specific, very curated kind of magic.