Songs That Could Be Movies: David Bowie

7 fantastic Bowie tracks that should be scripts…

Jun 23rd 2009 By Lucy Patterson

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The Song: Five Years

What a gloomy song. Released in ’72, Five Years pinpoints the moment humanity receives the news that the world will end in five years’ time.

Understandably, Bowie is a bit depressed about the whole thing. Hollywood won’t be angling for a feel-good movie with this one. It’s going to be bleak.

The Movie:

The film opens on a market in central London. A shaky, hand-held camera pans around a chaotic scene, where hundreds of people appear grief-stricken and panicked.

It unfolds that they’ve just heard the news that they have five years to live. The reason for this is never explained.

The lone camera follows the unnamed protagonist during his last years on Earth. There’s a lot of crying involved. You’ll need counselling after watching this one.

The Cast:

Bowie stars. Lars Von Trier directs, sticking rigidly to the Dogme doctrine.

So, far from being irrevocably determined as suggested by the tagline of doom, the plot seems nice and rudderless. Oh yeah, and the film is in real time. That’s right. It’s five years long. Lars, you maverick.

Sample Dialogue:

Bowie: My brain hurts a lot.