Your Everyday Nerd

With David Lynch’s passing, I wanted to check out David Lynch: The Art Life, a 2016 documentary looking at the filmmaker’s life. The Criterion Channel has made it available for free until the end of January 2025, so I highly recommend giving it a watch yourself.

As a fairly recent admirer of David Lynch, unfortunately I cant really write some huge thought piece about how his work has affected me.

As of this moment, I’ve only seen What Did Jack Do?, Eraserhead, and Dune. This was all back in 2020, so I can’t even remember enough to talk about too many specifics.

My review of What Did Jack Do? reads:

“This is the first David Lynch film I’ve ever seen.
I now want to be like David Lynch when I grow up.”

All I really remember about this short film is there was a monkey and he was talking about a chicken or something to David Lynch. As far as first impressions go, I really couldn’t have been more captivated. It was an artistic comedy(?) that probably has all kinds of layers that went way over my head. Or maybe it was just a silly movie about a monkey. Either way, I’m into it.

A few months later, I saw Eraserhead, a movie that I could only describe as:

“😂😂😂😨😂😂😂”

I’ve only seen this film once, yet somehow much of Eraserhead‘s imagery is vividly lodged in my brain — an anxious man with puffy hair troubled by a grotesque child that he must take care of, a strange woman singing, a moon, a dinner scene that becomes deeply unsettling, a factory.

I remember distinctively not knowing what the hell was going on, but that hardly mattered. I was an observer into a world that was wholly and distinctively original. It was fascinating.

A few more months later, I saw Dune.

Going into Dune I was aware of the struggles Lynch had faced while making this “unadaptable” film, so I had fairly low expectations.

My review read thusly:

“cool story, bro.”

Despite my boredom with Dune, I chalked this one up as an anomaly.

All this to say, it’s a shame I haven’t seen any of his other films.

Fortunately, my Lynch experience doesn’t end there. While I have yet to see Twin Peaks or Mulholland Drive, I have seen roughly an hour and a half of footage of David Lynch talking.

Of course, my actual first encounter with Lynch was a 12 second clip of Lynch on location making Inland Empire:

“I’m so depressed I don’t know what I’m doing. I have not got a clue.”

Real.

In 2023, I came across David Lynch: The Idea Dictates Everything (2006), a 40 minute interview where Lynch discusses everything from music to collaborations with actors. I can’t remember too many of the specifics, but once again, I was left with a vibe that was totally unshakable.

The same can be said for any of the other short form Lynch content I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. A 16 minute video about transcendental meditation showcases Lynch in a spiritual light, as he discusses concepts like the “unified field” and “pure bliss consciousness”.

There’s also the classic David Lynch on Cooking Quinoa. A black and white dead serious expose into Lynch’s personal quinoa recipe mixed with captivating storytelling.

David Lynch is a true artist in every sense of the word. In David Lynch: The Art Life we’re given a brief glimpse into this man’s inner world. When he’s making art, he sees sunshine. When he’s not, maybe he’s not the most miserable person, but he clearly feels like something is missing.

When I heard of his passing, I felt pretty disappointed that I haven’t seen most of his filmography. His work did a lot for independent filmmakers, so it feels like I’ve missed out on some very important cultural touchstones.

Of course, I fully plan to rectify this. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve seen from him. Many of his films have already been on my watchlist, so I have no issue with bumping them up in my queue.

Even so, I’m kinda grateful that my David Lynch journey is still at the beginning. The films I’ve already seen are so strikingly different from anything I’ve ever seen, so I can’t imagine what else he has in store for me.

And beyond that, with the interview clips I’ve seen, and now this documentary, it’s clear to see that this is a man who truly lived and breathed his art. His life philosophy is just as much captivating, as it is inspirational.

He’s a funny guy too! Cooking Quinoa is a serious video. But not unlike Eraserhead and What Did Jack Do?, Lynch delivers this material in such a matter-of-fact way, that you can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. And yet, as absurd as it all is, David Lynch was genuine. This man clearly loved his quinoa and wanted to share it with the world.

It takes a special person to share a part of their life with such unfiltered rawness and to present it in such a creatively free way.

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As far as the documentary itself, I quite enjoyed it! The direction is really neat. The narrative starts with Lynch’s early years and builds up to the conclusion of Eraserhead. It’s essentially just David Lynch talking for an hour a half with montage footage of him painting, sculpting, woodworking, smoking, and spending time with his child. Mixed within the 2016 footage, we get to see many of Lynch’s paintings, archival pictures of his youth, and even a few clips from his earliest short films.

The score is unsettling in the same way Eraserhead‘s score was. There’s a bit of a mystery surrounding Lynch’s psyche. He seems to use art as a way to come to terms with the darker periods of his life. It’s portrayed in a way that seems quite disturbing, and yet, Lynch is so incredibly open about the many positives he has had in his life as well, so I can’t say I ever truly felt disturbed.

I’d say if you’ve never seen anything from David Lynch, this isn’t a bad place to start. The Criterion Channel has made this available for free until the end of January, so give it a watch and then check out a couple of the YouTube videos I linked earlier. If you gel with David Lynch, the man, then watch What Did Jack Do? and Eraserhead. I think you’ll have a good time.