Q: What’s your favorite David Lynch film?
A: Inland Empire.
For a while there it was Twin Peaks: The Return.
For whatever reason Inland Empire was something I really started going back to during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every time I watched it I didn’t feel like my time was being wasted . . . but you know what?
All of David Lynch’s movies are great.
Yes, even Dune. It’s not even a proper adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel. It’s totally wrong. And it’s still great. It doesn’t even work as a conventional sci-fi flick. Doesn’t matter. It still has that spark that only Lynch could bring.
Yes, even Lost Highway . . . a movie I don’t actually like. I’ve watched it so many times-more than I’ve watched The Godfather or Citizen Kane. I could watch Lost Highway right now, still think it’s irredeemably silly, and have zero regrets. It’s got that Lynch spark to it.
And, yes, I know Mulholland Drive is the “official” best Lynch film. And I think it’s great, too . . . but Inland Empire is the one as far as I’m concerned.
Lynch at his worst is still the best.
Inland Empire was a low budget affair shot on prosumer cameras as a quasi-improvisational exercise in narrative surrealism originating in a set of internet videos . . . but the tools are only as good as the human beings that wield them. The technology follows the human artistic intentions. The human is in command, not the technology. That matters.
Inland Empire is a film to be experienced. That’s what’s most important.
