David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)

Directed by: Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm | 88 minutes | documentary, biography | Starring: David Lynch

Few directors are as adept at creating cinematic enigmas as the acclaimed David Lynch. For example, the many mysterious and cryptic sequences in masterpieces such as ‘Mulholland Drive’, ‘Lost Highway’, ‘Inland Empire’ or ‘Twin Peaks’ provide enough speculation to fill countless internet forums. It is therefore extremely interesting to gain an insight into Lynch’s inscrutable and immensely creative mind through an in-depth documentary.

Those who start from that premise, however, may be a little disappointed after watching ‘David Lynch: The Art Life’. The film only briefly discusses the rich film career of the flamboyant director. So it is certainly not a biopic in the classic sense of the word. Also, don’t expect revelations about his complex and enigmatic cinematic creations. It remains with a single tip of the veil lifted in inimitable Lynch style, such as a rather unusual anecdote from his childhood that implicitly stretches a direct line to ‘Twin Peaks’ for the good listener.

But what will we see? The film mainly offers a glimpse into the youth, the creative roots and the painting of the versatile and elusive artist David Lynch. This mainly means images of Lynch who, in his home or the adjacent studio, lays his hands on one of his new works of art in utmost concentration or, while quietly telling a story, while pulling a cigarette, digressing about his artistic aspirations and younger years. It is striking that his artworks are a way of processing experiences and memories from his youth and converting them into something that is both abstract and tangible. It is also interesting to note that many of the artworks on display look like the dark products of a troubled mind, while Lynch himself comes across as an amiable, friendly and fairly open man, someone who especially cherishes good and carefree memories of his childhood. That is not really strange, of course, since weightiness and light-footedness also go hand in hand in many of his cinematic creations. Because Lynch clearly determines what he does or does not tell, the filmmaker and artist is in control at all times. We rarely get to see the back of his tongue, but it helps that Lynch is a fanciful, humorous and very idiosyncratic storyteller.

The ultimate Lynch documentary is certainly not ‘David Lynch: The Art Life’. The documentary tells too little about the director’s films and the fantasies that have formed the basis of this cinematographic heritage. What remains is an at times intriguing, but also somewhat superficial tour through a complex artist’s brain.