Booed at Cannes but beloved of 'Peakies' I'm not convinced by FWWM, after a second viewing last night (I saw it when it came out too, but knew nothing then).

A lot of comments online praise it for it's genuinely supernatural story. In contrast, LH and MD (despite featuring Michael J. Anderson in a red-curtained room) are explicable in real world terms, with the fantastic elements explicable as dreams or fantasies.

Personally I felt that FWWM was much more open to the interpretation that Bob was fantasy/rationalisation of Laura's, than the TV series, which strongly suggests he is a demon. For example, in the series we find out that Leland was REALLY Bob, but in FWWM, the reveal is the other way round: Bob is revealed (to both us and Laura) as Leland.

I just found the prospect of the surreal elements being supernatural less interesting than the prospect of them being coded messages about the real world. I mean essentially, EVERYTHING that happens in FWWM can be taken at face value - Bob, Black Lodge... all of these, arguably, exist as depicted so there really is no mystery.

Still, the picture inspired dream sequence was utterly chilling...

Just put this on your wall, it won't give you you bad dreams or anything, honest.

Yeah, creepiest picture in the world and she puts it on her wall. Awesome...

So just wanted to say I hear ya about there being less play between a fantasy/subconscious life, and the real world in FWWM, LH and MD are more complex movies as far as that stuff is concerned.

but FWWM is no less dense in terms of info given to interpret in any given scene.

This is my favorite Lynch film, alongside with Mulholland Drive. I just love the Laura Palmer story, and Sheryl Lee gives such an amazing perfomance

I thought it would be even better without the first part, but I came to apreciate it over time.

Blue Velvet is my least liked Lynch film (but I have only seen 5 of his films: this one, the black trilogy and blue velvet).

The first scenario is a mirror or twin of the familiar Twin Peaks scenario. Bits of it are identical, like the details of the murder, while other elements are the exact opposite, like the extremely UNHELPFUL local cops. It's a bit like the 'shadow self' idea (doppleganger), Maddy vs Laura and the black vs white lodges.

This is textbook uncanny, a Freudian concept with a venerable history in the horror genre and in film making more generally. A thing is uncanny if elements of it are at once both familiar and unfamiliar, strangely familiar or strangely unfamiliar.

Other examples of this are de ja vu, the uncanny valley, and, in film, anytime things happen twice, e.g. the end of Vertigo or, in Mulholland Dr., the interrupted car journey.

And Lynch's obsession with twins of course.

this is probably all in my head, and the last time I watched Fire Walk With Me was last year, so who knows what crazy things have gotten into my head about that movie over the last year. i had this big theory about bumblebee in Fire Walk With Me cause I found some wiki articles that seemed to connect, and then I realized "DARN! Gee, Kevin, bumblebee isn't even in the movie. bumblebee is in transformers! what the hell were you thinking?"

so take this for what it's worth. it's probably just stupid, but thought i'd share anyway.

Bozia is polish for Why God? And I know it's totally wishful thinking on my part to think that Lynch uses polish in another one of his films. with some polish oldsters lamenting the possibility that the main character doesn't know polish. THAT never happened. and even if it did, you can build connections like that about everything. it's like building an entire theory on the fact that cars appear in all of Lynch's films.

so to make matters worse, i looked up garmon.

Gar Mon, like that, means "My boy" in French. but that's not how it appears in the movie, separated like that, so this is just more stupidity on my part, the second you say "Gar mon" instead of "Garmon" it's all just fan fiction at that point! and even though Lynch himself in one scene in the TV show says "makes you wish you knew a little french," i'm just totally taking that quote out of context.

but i got to thinking what if you neutered the french noun in question.... you would have this:

Garmonbozia = My child, why God?

interesting to think about even if it's just dumb stuff people like me come up with when they think too much about Lynch movies.. the truth is David Lynch just makes up stuff all the time, and it doesn't mean anything. because even if it was true, the translation I propose above just wouldn't apply to Leland Palmer at all, anyway.

kmkmiller wrote:this is probably all in my head, and the last time I watched Fire Walk With Me was last year, so who knows what crazy things have gotten into my head about that movie over the last year. i had this big theory about bumblebee in Fire Walk With Me cause I found some wiki articles that seemed to connect, and then I realized "DARN! Gee, Kevin, bumblebee isn't even in the movie. bumblebee is in transformers! what the hell were you thinking?"

so take this for what it's worth. it's probably just stupid, but thought i'd share anyway.

Bozia is polish for Why God? And I know it's totally wishful thinking on my part to think that Lynch uses polish in another one of his films. with some polish oldsters lamenting the possibility that the main character doesn't know polish. THAT never happened. and even if it did, you can build connections like that about everything. it's like building an entire theory on the fact that cars appear in all of Lynch's films.

so to make matters worse, i looked up garmon.

Gar Mon, like that, means "My boy" in French. but that's not how it appears in the movie, separated like that, so this is just more stupidity on my part, the second you say "Gar mon" instead of "Garmon" it's all just fan fiction at that point! and even though Lynch himself in one scene in the TV show says "makes you wish you knew a little french," i'm just totally taking that quote out of context.

but i got to thinking what if you neutered the french noun in question.... you would have this:

Garmonbozia = My child, why God?

interesting to think about even if it's just dumb stuff people like me come up with when they think too much about Lynch movies.. the truth is David Lynch just makes up stuff all the time, and it doesn't mean anything. because even if it was true, the translation I propose above just wouldn't apply to Leland Palmer at all, anyway.

Great connection! Anyone know if Lynch himself speaks multiple languages?

It took me a couple viewings, but I love this film to death. Lynch's best IMO. It's absolutely one of the most emotionally devastating things I've ever seen, while also being as beautifully shot and scored and frightening and visceral as Lynch at his best is. The series was great, but only a few episodes rival the genius of FWWM.

I also adore how it's like two films in one, and this structure is even more successful than that of Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive -- the two different parts in FWWM almost feel like different films, tonally, and both are pretty much equally masterful, unlike some parts of the aforementioned two films which have some momentary lapses of quality/taste. The prologue with Deer Meadow is just so foreboding and angry and sarcastic and incredibly funny in the darkest way; and then comes Laura's story, where no humor is really needed, just pure psychedelic expressionist rendering of the sickening abuse and unravelling of a poor young girl. Career-best scenes abound. And I think overall it's absolutely Lynch's scariest film, which is saying a LOT.

Thankfully, although the majority of the film is unrelentingly dark and disturbing and sad, the conclusion is one of the most beautiful and deservedly cathartic and emotional endings in all of cinema history.

A true masterpiece, compassionate and humane. Thank you David.

peirucalueva wrote:...even more successful than that of Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive... some parts of the aforementioned two films which have some momentary lapses of quality/taste..

Lapses of quality in MD?! That's fighting talk!

Which bits are you thinking of? To me it unfolds as brilliant scene after brilliant scene..


PS Recognise that avatar..