To understand just how much of a one-off David Lynch is, ask yourself this: what other filmmaker would make a 20-minute short on how to cook quinoa? To be sure, Lynch is one of the oddest – and most acclaimed – directors in modern movie history. So recognizable is the atmosphere of his films that “Lynchian” has become a go-to label for critics for any film that is even a tiny bit surreal or eerie. Alas, the critics have had precious little to write about: Lynch hasn’t made a movie since 2006’s “Inland Empire”. But there’s still a 40-year back catalog of Lynchian cinema to revisit – which is precisely what Babylon is doing this month with the series Who the hell is David Lynch? (runs until 03.05.2023). The Mitte cinema is screening Lynch’s filmography in full, showing his 10 feature films on repeat at various times of the day. Highlights include “Mulholland Dr.” and “The Elephant Man”, widely considered Lynch’s two greatest films, and the 1999 lawnmower road movie “Straight Story”. For Twin Peaks fans, there’s a chance to relive Laura Palmer’s final days with “Fire Walk with Me”, the dark movie prequel to the original series that allegedly got booed at Cannes. As with much of the filmmaker’s work, it’s meticulously weird, menacing and well…Lynchian.
Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Filmverleih
Who the hell is David Lynch? at Babylon, Rosa-Luxemburg-Str.30, 10178 Berlin–Mitte; map
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