Happy Fourth of July from Seattlest
Seattlest Pix: 09Jul04
Seattlest Pix: 09Jul05
Seattle Int'l Beer Festival Ends at 7 p.m.
David Lynch premiered his hopeless, boring mess of a film last night at the Cinerama and the only thing worse than sitting through three hours of mindless scenes of people staring in to space and nothing happening was the insipid, gushing fannish Q&A with the Lynch freaks immediately following the film. Did you know that Lynch's fans are all filmmakers too? You do now. Do you care that every one who took the mic wanted to remind Lynch about their conversations they had with him (BFF!) earlier that day at the Scarecrow signing? Too bad.
Lynch's performance with the fans was more of his trademark golly gee willickers New Age hoakum where critical acumen is verboten and negative thoughts and reactions are ... negative? Isn't it kind of hypocritical to hate Hate? More so than the desire not to have any Desire? So instead of having open, honest reactions to all the negative, disturbing stuff life throws at you, just think happy thoughts and live a life of bullshit positive affirmation and feel-goodery. Thanks, Lynch. Your advice worked out and everything's great now.
Lynch kept referring in the Q&A to "ideas" and why his approach to film is all about finding out what his ideas are and staying true to those ideas. Unfortunately, he has run out of ideas. The same juvenile film experiments - for example, when a character sees herself in the same room! Is it the future? Whoa, trippy! - was already done in Fire Walk With Me, Lost Highway, Mullholland Drive, etc. Inland Empire is just more of the same shit, but this time even less narrative structure, and some random, go-nowhere anthropomorphic rabbit movies he made for his website interwoven into the film for no reason.
Since Lynch apparently lives in some kind of "Genius" bubble, he should avoid stories that involve characters simulating actual human beings. He should stick to what he does best: his distinctive art direction, the meticulous lighting (that makes you realize how much you take light for granted) and all those textured, layered sound effects, and just leave the story telling to people who aren't repressed hippie morons who must not think bad thoughts.
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Maybe closing the book on Twin Peaks fried (the rest of) Lynch’s brain. I loved that show to pieces, learned to love the mystery in its lame conclusion, but haven’t truly enjoyed any of his work since. (Haven’t seen The Straight Story; apparently it’s unlike him.) As curious as I’ve been to see/hear the guy in person, sounds like it’d be anything but satisfying.
I loved Mulholland Drive, but I don't think most (sane) fans would argue that all Lynch is excellent Lynch.
Of course, that (sane) makes a big pool of exceptions.
As I learned last night, everyone's interpretation of everything is equally valid, so your opinion that the q&a was insipid and vapid is just as correct as those fans who thought it was all extremely profound and applauded after every response.
The Straight Story was AWESOME. I cried. I've never seen any of Lynch's other stuff, but my sense is that because I liked The Straight Story, I wouldn't like it.
what i heard david lynch say last night was that everyones viewpoint/critique in regards to INLAND EMPIRE was valid. perhaps the snarling tone of your thought drowned out those replies as they did not fit into your pre-planned tirade.
Seth, you would probably dig Elephant Man. Probably not Mullholland Drive, but that's his best film.
"ow," I wouldnt have stood in line for two hours and paid the exorbitant ticket price if I had a "pre-planned tirade"
No doubt Hollywood is the larger provider of "Kool-Aid" by conditioning us to reject films that do not follow a straight line. No character arc? No foil? Love interest? Whatever shall we do? Why can't we admire filmmakers who challenge viewers to use intuition and imagination instead of tugging us along in some formulaic jalopy-of-a-film from point "A" to "B," knowing exactly where we are going the whole time? Thank goodness for directors like Lynch who turn us on our heads once and a while.
Maybe the author would prefer sticking to Vin Diesel films?
OMG JW, how did you know that Silvie looooooves Vin Diesel?
Look, I enjoy experimental visual techniques and non-linear storytelling. I appreciate films that make me work to figure out what's going on. But at the end of that three-hour journey, I want there to be more of a payoff than just "whatever you think happened in the movie is what happened in the movie." A little less bullshit, a little more coherency. If that makes me a cultural heathen, then so be it.
I really enjoyed the film, but can see why it may not be everyone's cup o' tea. Liking or not liking it is not the ultimate indicator of one's intellect. A "boring mess" can very easily be another's enthralling mindfuck.
I thought "Island Empire" was gorgeous on so many levels that words simply can't do it justice.
I don't recall ever experiencing a more riveting performance by an actress (Laura Dern) and as a fan of Lynch's more abstract vision ("Eraserhead", "Lost Highway", "Mulholland Drive") I think the film exhibits a remarkable subconscious progression for the director. The fact that he was able to accomplish this with a $2,400 hand held digital camera is not only remarkable, but truly inspiring. Throw in the fact that Lynch produced and performed much of the original music and sound design and you have the recipe for pure genius in my opinion.
Lynch has always been a visionary and like most visionaries who continue down their own path cultivating their art, Lynch has seemingly surpassed much of his fan base. To that I say, “Bravo Mr. Lynch!!!” May you continue creating films that totally disregard our expectations. “Island Empire” might be your greatest work yet. Looking forward to experiencing it again and again and again.
Being a former film critic I can understand your exasperation at the 'arty-ness' of art house cinema.
I thought 'Mullholland Drive' was basically porno dressed up as art film. I think one of his best films was 'Blue Velvet' and the 'Twin Peaks' series was wonderful because it took the TV soap opera (and a boatload of stereotypes and archetypes) and up ended it in a comedic and scary way.
I didn't attend the screening at Cinerama but I did go to his book signing at Town Hall the night before and Lynch struck me as a masterful speaker and a genuinely nice guy. I'm reading 'Catching the Big Fish' right now and it's a fun, engaging little read.
So the guy's into TM? So what!!! Should he be a recovering coke addict who found Jesus? Would that make his art more valid for you?
So he's a genuinely nice person who, apparently, actors are willing to walk off cliffs for. Again: so what?! Would you rather he be some pinched-sphincter screaming monster like James Cameron? Yeah, Cameron's films have a beginning, a middle, an end. They have conflict and resolution. Bad guys and good guys (or gals).
Don't forget that Lynch is the one filmmaker that other filmmakers act like drooling groupies around. George Lucas wanted HIM to direct his latter-day 'Star Wars' installments. Francis Ford Coppola has said he thinks Lynch is one of the greatest filmmakers in America today. Period.
But, hey, what do they know.
Basically your options are seeing Laura Dern run from CGI dinosaurs in 'Jurassic Park' versus seeing her in this. I'll take 'Inland Empire.'
Mel, if the best effort Inland supporters like you and JW can do is compare it favorably to Vin Diesel or Jurassic Park then you have already lost the argument. In the comments above I recommended Elephant Man and said Mulholland Drive was Lynch's best film. I own most of Lynch's films. So obviously your argument is misplaced: if I preferred the Hollywood shit that you describe then I would not have stood in line for this movie for two hours or paid the higher than usual ticket price to have seen this. This movie is a boring mess not because its experimental but because it has no substance and there are no ideas. Its Lynch turning a camera on and telling people to do random stuff that goes nowhere. Its not worth three hours of anyone's time and its not worth his name.
I definitely enjoyed Inland Empire. Lynch films are always a breath of fresh air.
But IE was almost a carbon copy of Mulholland Drive. Lead actress falls in love, dementia ensues, film-within-a-film confusion. Director/producer/actor pow-wows, script-rehearsing.
See, I thought Lynch was mocking Hollywood in Mulholland Dr. Now, after two films about multiple-personality disorder lead actresses....I'm not so sure.
THIS MATT SILVIE DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT ART!!! VIN DIESEL SILVIE FREAK!!!!!
I loved Inland Empire, I'm a film student and it made some sense to me. Well, if you like David's work or not! Checkout this event.
The second annual Lynch Weekend will be hosted on the Maharishi University of Management campus in Fairfield, Iowa on May 25-27. www.lynchweekend.org
www.mum.edu