This year, from September to December, The Light House Cinema is showcasing the work of one of the most original and bizarre directors out there: David Lynch. The David Lynch Season, which runs from September 26th to December 4th, presents to us some of Lynch’s most loved and memorable works, from sci-fi epics to dramatic thrillers. This festival also shows a wide range of Lynch’s films, showing that he is not just the creator of grotesque and peculiar films. The festival invites you to explore the intriguing and multifaceted work of one of the most talented contemporary directors to date, from the nightmarish and unsettling to the more straightforward heartwarming stories.
To kick off the season, The Light House is hosting Cinema Book: Dune. This evening allows the audience to watch David Lynch’s Dune (1984) and discuss it in relation to the epic sci-fi novel by Frank Herbert. Dune itself is showing on September 30th. This film, though dated in terms of its special effects (though let’s face it, it makes it more enjoyable), is a gripping story of a young Duke Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan) who swears revenge on the Harkonnens after they killed his parents, and how he fights to protect the planet of Arrakis along with its native people, the Fremen. With giant sandworms, a magical grain called “spice” that heightens people’s awareness and controls the universe and a young Sting playing Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, whose mission is to kill the young Duke, this film is full of exciting and thrilling moments, all while set on different planets, in particular the desert planet of Atreides.
On both September 28th and October 8th, Lynch’s Eraserhead (1977) was screened. This is Lynch’s debut film, and immediately showed the world his ability to create peculiar and even slightly uncomfortable stories. This film tells the story of Henry (John Nance) who discovers that his ex-girlfriend Mary (Charlotte Stewart) has given birth to his child which is severely deformed. After moving in together to look after the baby, they’re driven insane by the baby’s constant crying and disturbing look. With shocking and iconic imagery such as Frank’s stand up hair, the deformed baby and the Lady in the radiator (Laurel Near), this film became an instant cult classic due to its unconventional way of storytelling and strange characters.
Another of Lynch’s films being shown that’s on the stranger side of things is The Elephant Man (1980), which is being shown on October 1st, 5th and 9th. Based on a true story, it tells the heart-breaking tale of Joseph Carey Merrick (John Hurt), known as “The Elephant Man” due to his severely deformed body. Once discovered in a freak show by Doctor Frederick Treves, he is brought to a hospital where Treves can study Merrick’s deformed body. This story is heart-breaking and empathetic as we watch Merrick struggle with his condition, which doesn’t affect his intellect. This becomes especially poignant in the famous scene in which Merrick declares that he is not an animal but a human being after being cornered in a train station for his shocking appearance.
On October 12th, 14th and 15th, Lynch’s on-the-road love story Wild at Heart (1990) will be shown. In one of his outstanding roles, Nicholas Cage stars as the snakeskin-jacket-wearing Sailor who, along with the love of his life, Lula Fortune (Laure Dern), goes on the run after Lula’s mother Marietta (Diane Ladd) hires a hitman to take out Sailor after failing to keep them apart. This movie is thrilling, glamorous and full of action. It also shows that Lynch can display a true love story in his own, off-the-wall stylised way.
On October 19th, 22nd and 23rd, a film like none of the others presented on this list is being shown in The Light House. The Straight Story (1999) is exactly what it says on the tin: a straight story (especially in comparison to the rest). It tells the story of Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) who, after hearing of his brother’s stroke, decides to travel to see him to mend their relationship. The only snag in this plot is that Alvin can’t drive due to his age, so he drives his lawnmower all the way from Iowa to Wisconsin. This “on-the-road story” is not just picturesque and beautiful, but also heart-warming as we see the importance of family and the lengths he will go to be there for them. This is a stand-out film on this list as it proves that Lynch has the skill to direct a conventional story in a powerful way, showing his true talents as a director who doesn’t have to rely on spectacle to pull off a good story.
On both November 2nd and 5th, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) will be screened. This film has a particularly large fan base as it relates to Lynch’s TV show Twin Peaks and is a very important film to the fandom. It provides Twin Peak fans out there with a prequel, leading up to the death of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). This violent thriller provides answers to the many questions Twin Peaks fans may have from the TV show, so is not to be missed.
On November 9th and 11th, Lost Highway (1997) is being shown, arguably one David Lynch’s best-known films. This film intertwines two stories, one of a Jazz musician Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) who is accused of the murder of his wife Renee Madison (Patricia Arquette) and a mechanic Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty), who becomes involved with Alice Wakefield (Patricia Arquette), who is cheating on her gangster boyfriend Mr Eddy (Robert Loggia). Lynch connects these two stories through the setting of the prison Fred is held in after being charged with the murder of his wife and where Pete is released after committing no crime, and also by the fact that Patricia Arquette plays two female characters, one in each story. This neo-noir film is a classic example of Lynch’s expert, unusual way of storytelling and his stylised way of directing that gives the film a classic 90s look.
On November 16th, 19th and 20th, another one of Lynch’s well known works will be showcased. Mullholland Drive (2001) is a film-noir style thriller that depicts the events of a black-haired woman (Laura Elena Harring) who loses her memory after a car crash. After being discovered by Betty (Naomi Watts), an innocent young actress who just moved to Hollywood, the two of them try to piece together the woman’s identity and where she came from. However, the further they go, the deeper Betty gets into the dark twisted underbelly of Hollywood.
Inland Empire (2006), one of his most recently directed films, will also be showcased as part of the David Lynch season, screening on the 23rd, 26th and 27th of November. This psychological thriller tells the story of actor Nikki (Laura Dern), who gets a role in a big movie, along with fellow actor Devon (Justin Theroux). Nikki soon starts to realise that her real life starts to become similar to the role she is playing on screen, such as having an affair with her co-star Devon. Both actors soon realise that the film is a remake of a Polish production “47”, which was left incomplete after an unknown disaster. Like most Lynch films, the narrative is accompanied by bizarre and unsettling imagery, most poignant being the sitcom of people dressed in rabbit costumes and a random flash mob of women in an apartment.
To finish up the David Lynch Season, on December 2nd, 3rd and 4th The Light House will be Screening Blue Velvet (1986). This is an excellent film to complete the season, allowing us to celebrate the 30th anniversary of this Lynch thrilling masterpiece. Young Jeffery Beaumont (Kyle Maclachlan) returns home after his father is hospitalized after having a stroke. In the field behind his neighbourhood, he finds a severed ear that he takes to the police. Unhappy with the pace of their work, he teams up with the detective’s daughter, Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), to solve the mystery. After suspecting that singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabelle Rossellini) is involved, Jeffery becomes involved in her strange dark world, coming across strange individuals such as Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper). This is a thrilling film, showcasing Lynch’s power to evoke tension in his films that reminds us of the great directors of thrillers such as Alfred Hitchcock.
David Lynch Season is running until December 4th.
