I've been in an interesting mood these days, and as I was in my room doing nothing, I decided to get the ball rolling on these movie nights. After all, I still am behind. So, I was scrolling down the list, and I decided to re-watch two movies that have a special place in my heart. Two wonderful surreal works, by two surrealist masters. The first is Un Chien Andalou by Luis Bunuel, and the second is Eraserhead by David Lynch. Let our minds be blown (off and sold to make erasers!).
I first watched Un Chien Andalou nearly a decade ago and it awakened something in me. The bizarre, the surreal, the sometimes morbid. I had a love affair with the movies of Tim Burton then so, this wonderful short just amplified what was already there. It was co-written by Salvador Dali, who also appears as a priest. It's fanciful, ethereal, and dream-like. The quintessential surreal film. It includes frightening imagery that has become iconic: the cloud slicing through the moon as the woman's eyeball gets sliced by a razor, the boy prodding a severed hand on the road, and the man's hand that has a hole in it with ants spilling over. All of these have been talked about, emulated, and have entered the cinematic universe. This black and white spills over from our dreams and permeates our desires in a technicolor world. Its jump cuts remind my of At Land and Entre'Acte, which we have previously viewed. This short glimmers with hints of genius that would absolutely govern Bunuel's latter work. This, coupled with its high place in iconic films, has cemented this film as one of the greatest and most inventive, not to mention bizarre and irreverent in the history of cinema.
****
The feature presentation is Eraserhead by David Lynch. Lynch, a student at the AFI conservatory at the time, tried to attain funding for this film, but AFI was reluctant after seeing Lynch's paltry 30 page screenplay, they gave him a small amount ($30,000) and sent him out to make his vision a reality. One thing I can say about David Lynch is that his vision is unlike anyone else's vision. His attitude and desire to accomplish what he envisions engulfs all that is shown on screen. Apparently, this film took, on and off, five year to make, and Lynch participated in many roles on set. He wasn't just the writer and the director. He maintained much creative and artistic control as he was hands on with sets, with lighting, camera placement, and even prop making and manipulation. He was said to not let his cinematographer watch as he puppeted a real embalmed calf fetus. The lighting is striking, the close-ups with all of their mind-blowing details are complex and perplexing. The baby effects leave you wondering how it was all done. There is very little narrative in this film. It's more of a visual and auditory poem of bizarre images, and mesmerizing sound effects and white noise. David Lynch is said to have kept the meaning to himself, preferring the individual viewer to determine the meaning. I enjoy that. Each person brings their own experience and history and bias to the viewing and each interpretation will be different. When I viewed this for the second time, I saw desire and sex vs. responsibility and correct behavior given the circumstances. You either forget your responsibilities and delve into your desires, or you shun your desires and dive into your responsibilities as an adult, a spouse, and a father. Whether this film was a reaction on David Lynch's recent experiences as a first time father is up in the air. Maybe it plays into the scenes with the baby. But the worry about the baby, about his wife, about his neighbor, about the spinal cords (or whatever it is) that enter the scene, about his nightmares, and the chipmunky women in the heater really comes through in the enigmatic performance by Jack Nance. The confidence despite the lack of plot is remarkable considering this is David Lynch's first film. The way he tells a story, in whatever genre, with whatever quirkiness makes Lynch a beloved director, who held the interest and admiration of Kubrick, Brooks, Waters, and Spielberg. With the film noiresque lighting, the beautiful camera movements, and the textures of the set, this makes Eraserhead a must watch, even if it's your only viewing. I recommend multiple viewings, personally.
***1/2
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