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Old 04-29-2006, 01:10 PM   #15
Once A Villain
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Quote:
Originally Posted by After a brisk nap
Although Hollywood has conditioned us to think of film as a storytelling medium, meaning in art is not limited to narrative.
You're not going to get very far attempting to inform me of how Hollywood has "conditioned us". I'm no fan of Hollywood, and some of the very earliest silent films made in countries other than the U.S. also seemed to believe that film works well as a storytelling medium. Obviously art is not limited to narrative, but it would help Lynch's cause in Lost Highway if I hadn't already seen many superior non-narrative films.

Quote:
Originally Posted by After a brisk nap
That's not to say Lost Highway doesn't have a meaningful plot. Even at first look it tells several stories that are reasonably coherent, even if they may seem fragmentary or incomplete. Look a little closer, and you'll see that there's an overall structure and a secret narrative which makes sense of a lot of what you're seeing.
No need to patronize me, I've seen Lost Highway at least thirteen times...I've looked as close as you can look. I guess now would be a good time to mention that I used to think Lost Highway was a great movie in my teens, I just don't anymore (perhaps because Mulholland is so much better). It has gone the way of The Frighteners, Total Recall, and Army of Darkness for me...

Quote:
Originally Posted by After a brisk nap
This is an important aspect of how Lynch experiences life, as expressed in his art. "This whole world's wild at heart and weird on top", as he puts it in one of his films. That's why I said Lynch is weird for the sake of being weird for a reason: The inexplicable strangeness of life is one of the main things he's trying to express.
Well, give me Béla Tarr for this any day of the week. Andrei Tarkovsky perhaps. Maybe a little Fassbinder, or as previously mentioned, Bunuel. Hell, I'd take Fellini too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by After a brisk nap
Mulholland Dr. was challenging for some viewers, but not for anyone who had struggled with Lost Highway.
I would rather be challenged than struggle with something that has no end to the struggle. Trying to make sense out of something even the director didn't seem to understand is pretty much futile.

Quote:
Originally Posted by After a brisk nap
I'm pretty much convinced that if you re-edited Mulholland Dr. in chronological order, it would seem self-evident what's going on. That's why I think it's lightweight and superficial.
Hmmm... While we are at it, can we edit Pulp Fiction into chronological order? Oh wait, I wouldn't want that, nevermind.

Quote:
Originally Posted by After a brisk nap
Now I quite enjoy a brain workout, and I'm not going to disparage disorientation as valid literary and filmic device, but a puzzle is entertainment, not art. And Mulholland Dr. is very little more than a puzzle. It doesn't have much to say other than "can you figure it out?"
Sorry but given the way I view Lost Highway, it almost sounds like you're saying a puzzle with a solution can't be art, while a puzzle with no solution CAN be art.

Quote:
Originally Posted by After a brisk nap
It sounds like you haven't really understood the bits of Lost Highway that are understandable. If you watch it again while keeping in mind that the key is the same as that to Mulholland Dr., maybe you will start to appreciate it.
I understand what is understandable. But I wouldn't mind if more of it was understandable.
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