Lost Highway

Big Chris · 1 May 2006 at 19:10

Seen this film a couple of times, most recently this morning as I couldn't sleep, and I still don't fully get it.

I'm no stranger to Lynch films, so it's no surprise to me that I'm still a little baffled by it; it took me 4 goes to work out Mulholland Drive and what I came up with is still just my opinion.

Has anyone else seen Lost Highway? Any thoughts/interpretations? (other than "yeah it sucks"...)

King4aDay · 1 May 2006 at 19:56

I absolutely love Lost Highway, but yeah it left me pretty baffled too.

Basically the idea behind it is based on a type of multiple-personality disorder, whereby people who find themselves in highly stressful situations create characters in their head and then 'live' these characters in a made-up world in their imagination.

Basically Fred Madison does murder his wife, but cant deal with it, so creates a new identity in his mind (the mechanic character). However, his guilt means that he's unable to keep control of the made-up world, and by trying to maintain his denial his alter-ego ends up facing more and more chaotic events.

Have a look at http://www.jasonsweb.com/LostHighway/LH_Analysis.html.

Arcade Fire · 1 May 2006 at 20:02

My approach to Lynch films has always been emphatically not to try and work out what his message is, if he has one at all. He wraps his films in so many layers of deliberate confusion that trying to puzzle out what his intentions are is a futile task. I get much more enjoyment by trying to appreciate them for their cinematography, and occasionally smiling wryly at the more obvious jokes and comments.

Saying that, I haven't actually seen Lost Highway.

King4aDay · 1 May 2006 at 20:17

Arcade Fire said:
Saying that, I haven't actually seen Lost Highway.

Its a really cool film, with a great soundtrack.

nands · 2 May 2006 at 10:55

Arcade Fire said:
My approach to Lynch films has always been emphatically not to try and work out what his message is

I know what you mean. I enjoy them for what they are when I watch them. They usually stick in your head for quite a while and then reading other people's takes on it on imdb. Doing that you can usually come up with your own conclusions.

Spunj99 · 2 May 2006 at 12:16

Arcade Fire said:
...I get much more enjoyment by trying to appreciate them for their cinematography, and occasionally smiling wryly at the more obvious jokes and comments.

...and the lesbians.

Big Chris · 2 May 2006 at 12:18

Arcade Fire said:
My approach to Lynch films has always been emphatically not to try and work out what his message is, if he has one at all. He wraps his films in so many layers of deliberate confusion that trying to puzzle out what his intentions are is a futile task. I get much more enjoyment by trying to appreciate them for their cinematography, and occasionally smiling wryly at the more obvious jokes and comments.

Saying that, I haven't actually seen Lost Highway.

I don't so much try to work out what the message is, as I could be (and have been) at it for ages. However, in the case of Lost Highway (you really should watch it) it's not so easy to even describe what just happened when the credits roll, and a few more goes later I'm still non the wiser.

I came up with some basic idea surrounding multiple personalities (in a similar way that imagination and reality are joined in Mulholland Drive) but as is the norm with Lynch, there are still many unanswered questions and unexplained points. Still, that's what I love about his films so will be going back for more.

Anyone know if he has anything else brewing?