I have tried to understand Lynch. I love challenging movies. But I am absolutely convinced now that to understand this guy's movies, one needs some sort of hallucinogen or something. His stories are so complicated and make no sense. There I said it. I dont get him.
shareI don't fully understand most of his films, but... I still like them a lot.
Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!
Stop trying to understand Lynch. I don't even bother. I have my idea of what Lost Highway is about, and I could be wrong, but it doesn't really matter. Just sit back and enjoy the film.
shareI have tried to understand Lynch. I love challenging movies. But I am absolutely convinced now that to understand this guy's movies, one needs some sort of hallucinogen or something.
I found this movie to be easy to understand. Then again, I had just watched Eraserhead, and Inland Empire before it
shareWhat does that mean? Do you understand a Jackson Pollock painting or a Jimi Hendrix solo?
shareJimi Hendrix was more than "just a guitar player". Similarly, Pollock was doing more than just throwing random images onto a canvas.
Lynch, on the other hand, lacks form or direction. He appears to just babble on incoherently to satisfy himself. Sometimes he succeeds in creating moments of intense atmosphere, but on the whole he is aimless and self-indulgent. One trick pony.
~ There is nothing more pathetic than an aging hipster.
I'm sorry you feel that way about Lynch. I get that many people do not like the work of Lynch or can't seem to find any meaning in it, but I certainly do not believe Lynch to be self-indulgent. I for one definitely see the complete coherence and indeed poignant storytelling in his narrative films.
Almost any movie by Lynch I have watched took a lot of time to digest and many of them I did not like at first viewing. It's only after thinking about it and viewing them multiple times I got a sense of Lynch direction. And only after a while I discovered a way to view his films so that you can make sense of it. It takes a whole different approach than most films, because the story is told through metaphors, symbolism and time distortions. So it realy demands active participation by the viewer.
Still, taste is a pretty relative matter and if one does not like or get into the work of Lynch, so be it.
Had that with Mulholland Drive. On leaving the cinema, I really didn't like it but after the second viewing I could't believe how moving it actually was. I think sometimes with people like Lynch, you have to be prepared to change where you're coming from.
But self-indulgent, I'd give the other poster a bit of credit for that. He is a bit, but then he's an artist and he's making films like he wants to so shouldn't really expect otherwise.
You're nuts.
shareLynch, on the other hand, lacks form or direction. He appears to just babble on incoherently to satisfy himself. Sometimes he succeeds in creating moments of intense atmosphere, but on the whole he is aimless and self-indulgent.
But certain themes 'do' connect throughout the movie; it's full of symmetrical occurrences.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
Certain themes yes; the love interest, an evil presence/mystery man, murder, porn, etc. but they are told with no real scope which makes it all disjointed at first.
People hate what's popular and people jump on bandwagons. The rest of us are in the middle. Done.
I can totally believe most Lynch films may seem disjointed at first, especially when first confronted with one of the "difficult" ones (I've been there, with Mulholland Dr). As for the "themes", they're probably more accurately described as the protagonist's jealousy, rage and inability to handle women, seeing them in a certain way (the madonna/whore thing again perhaps). In these regards Pete's segment seems to expand on Fred's, providing the possible background. And to me personally these often rather subtle symmetries are what make the film so fascinating - the central motif of looking into an overhead light as well as the brick walls appearing both in the first and second act, echoing Fred being parked in prison in the middle of the movie; the (re)appearence of that frantic free jazz; the dramatic occurrances at Andy's (the first appearence of MM symbolic of murderous thought vs not only Pete committing manslaughter, but also Alice revealing her true nature, cursing like a sailor while looting a corpse); repetition of minutiae like mention of the Moke's... that kinda stuff.
Btw what you call "deliberate obfuscation", appears to me like an appropriate way to approach a story where the central character is in a permanent state of confusion... well, that IS the story.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
Hahaha! Pollock wasn't just slinging paint?
I do like much of Lynch's work, but to me, this film was a waste of celluloid.
Seems like Lynch just took a bunch of his favorite actors, slapped some images from his previous film(s), some sexy skin, violence, shook well and spewed it out.
As someone else said, I think Lynch knows the more obscure he is, the more "cognoscenti" will defend the film as "ground-breaking" or "symbolic."
I'm not against experimentation, but I feel cheated if it's on my dime and fails.
it`s right brain stuff, kick the chatting left brain out of room and go with the flow. lynch is a genius at tuning you into that abstract non linear under the surface state of consciousness. it`s like music, it`s something you feel. non verbal.
Nature is not our enemy, to be raped and conquered. Nature is ourselves to be cherished and explored
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Same here. I've watched "Blue Velvet" 9 (nine) times - still don't get it. And "Mulholland Drive" - WTF?!?! I'm downloading now "Inland Empire". Let's see...
There is NO "getting" him! A long time ago he realized that the more nonsense he puts in movies, the more it appeals to people. Because they think it makes them intellectual or unique. That is the truth! I liked Twin Peaks but I never liked the psychedelic parts with midgets and strobe lighting. David Lynch should never be allowed to write. He's an above average pure director but should never have creative control. Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway are way overrated.
I see Stupid People...
There is NO "getting" him! A long time ago he realized that the more nonsense he puts in movies, the more it appeals to people. Because they think it makes them intellectual or unique. That is the truth! I liked Twin Peaks but I never liked the psychedelic parts with midgets and strobe lighting. David Lynch should never be allowed to write. He's an above average pure director but should never have creative control. Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway are way overrated.
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Funny u pick the parts that made Twin Peaks a truly unique an a one of a kind show. Other shows create mystery's through plot devices. He created mysteries through metaphors and the human subconscious.
shareLost Highway, like most Lynch films, become clearer through multiple viewings. What at first seems illogical and bizarre eventually makes sense. Lost Highway from my perspective reflects a jealous and ultimately psychotic protagonist whose sense of reality becomes indistinguishable once he kills his wife. Fred imagines himself as Pete not only as an escape from his true situation, but also to rid himself of guilt over killing Alice by attempting to save an imagined version of her.
I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.
Well, I like your version, but it takes leaps and bounds to get to that synopsis based on certain things we see in the film and what we are almost made to "believe" about that movie universe, the cops acknowledging "Pete," for example.
People hate what's popular and people jump on bandwagons. The rest of us are in the middle. Done.
I liked Twin Peaks as a whole, at least it was interesting seeing how the story unfolded. Besides some scenes I didn't really like Blue Velvet or much less Lost Highway. I don't know if I should continue with the rest of his movies, Peaks gave me hope but then I lost it.
shareI agree
Yea, Tho I Walk Thru The Valley Of The Shadow Of Political Correctness...🇺🇸