David Lynch has been one of few filmmakers in the past fifty years who have had such a towering influence upon cinemas as well as contemporary art.
Lynch paved the way for generations of filmmakers and artists alike with his deep expeditions into the subconscious that lay bare in all of his work. To mention his name evokes surreal and nightmarish images of the banal horrors that lay beneath the surface of the America in which he grew up. Images of uncanny, bleak, drony industrial landscapes or in contrast colorful, warm, innocent, sentimental scenes of enjoying the simple things in life like a damn good cup of coffee.
Lynch was a dreamer who saw the beauty in every minute detail of the world, championing creativity and the wonder of ideas.
Lynch has changed the way many of my closest friends and I view movies and art as a whole. Not every movie needs to hold your hand and tell you everything that’s going on. Just like dreams, films can speak so deeply to you without even giving you a hint of the puzzle. The absolute depth and cryptic quality of Lynch’s films allows them to remain fresh and exciting for countless rewatches. I personally have watched “Lost Highway” (1997) and “Blue Velvet” (1986) multiple times, and they somehow get better with each rewatch, and I rarely rewatch movies to begin with.
Though David Lynch has spoken about his influences from the dreamlike films of Fellini or Maya Deren to the absurd worlds of Kafka; Lynch’s work stands alone, distinct in its phantasmagorical approach.
When interviewed, Lynch would always refuse to explain his movies, as he believed that it was the audience’s work to create their own interpretation of what they had just seen. In the spirit of that, this article shouldn’t be seen as an explanation of his films, but rather an introduction to his work.
The most distinct characteristic of Lynch’s work which separates it from other directors is the dreamlike qualities of his films. At points they can feel like a beautiful dream you’d never want to end and the next it feels like an intense nightmare.
Lynch’s debut feature film, “Eraserhead” (1977) follows Henry, a factory worker who has just discovered that he is father to an inhuman baby. The film follows an intense dream logic, thanks to an unparalleled atmosphere provided by its elaborate sound design and stark black and white cinematography.
“Blue Velvet” (1986) was Lynch’s comeback film and the film which became the template for the rest of his career. The film follows Jeffrey Beaumont as he stumbles upon a severed ear in a field, after returning to town to take care of his ill father. Like entering a dream, Jeffrey enters the ear only to discover what lies beneath this picturesque American town. Moments interspersed feel like a dream, at times a disturbing picture of what lies within us.
Often labelled as his masterpiece, “Mulholland Drive” (2001) follows the idealistic Betty Elms as she enters Hollywood with fervent hope and anticipation of becoming a movie star. Upon meeting the amnesiac Rita, she finds that the city of dreams may be a living nightmare. “Mulholland Drive” is Lynch’s most dreamlike film, each scene feeling more surreal than the last. In one particular scene, a nameless man at a diner discusses a horrific nightmare he had to an investigator. To alleviate the stress of it, he walks to the scene of the nightmare only to faint at the sight of what he saw.
Just like his films, Lynch was a dreamer who believed in the power of ideas and creativity. With the rise of AI and the amount of hypercommercialism in films today, losing creatives like him is a tremendous loss for the arts. In the spirit of David Lynch, go fish for some ideas, no matter how small.