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Inland Empire (2006)
David Lynch Fans - READ THIS
The main problem with INLAND EMPIRE compared with earlier Lynch films is not that it has no coherent plot, but that it is totally uninteresting - in fact, painful to watch.
I am a big David Lynch fan and wish I hadn't seen this movie because of how much it has hurt my image of this usually wonderful director.
Most people usually think Lynch films don't make much sense, but they're wrong - movies like Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway have just enough coherent thread woven through them to make them very good, interesting films. Both MD and LH arguably have coherent plots which are just presented in a nonlinear manner. So when people told me that this latest Lynch film was "bad" and "didn't make any sense," I ignored them.
DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE I MADE.
I had a cup of coffee on my way into this movie, and halfway through it I was asleep. Two-thirds of the way through it (it is incredibly long) I walked out because I could not take it any more.
This film is the product of David Lynch's overinflated ego. He is no longer trying to please an audience, just pleasing himself. Undoubtedly people will wrap themselves into pretzels trying to analyze this film, foolishly. Lynch himself has stated that he filmed INLAND EMPIRE with no coherent plan (notice I said plan not plot) in mind.
Keep in mind that I am Polish and therefore better prepared than most to understand/appreciate this film.
Akai hashi no shita no nurui mizu (2001)
Great Movie
This is one of the best movies I have seen, beautifully shot and with a warm story. Probably my favorite romance film, and certainly one of the best romantic comedies. I specifically registered at the IMDb to comment on this film.
The main character is a Japanese corporate underling with a terrible job and an unhappy wife, but clearly with a deeper "character" than his life suggests. Seeking a golden Buddha left in an old house by a friend of a friend (hoping for a cheap financial payoff), he gets wound up in the life of an odd but beautiful woman. The story has a strong sense of humor (Saeko's water spraying "condition" is only a comic exaggeration of female ejaculation) and resembles magical realism. They end up having a romance, and the main character discovers happiness and new meaning in his life in this small fishing town, far from heartless Tokyo. The "water building up" is obviously just a metaphor for sexual tension; part of what makes this film so good is its heartwarming portrayal of human sexuality (far from the overcommercialized and emotionless superficiality that we are force-fed every day by the mass media).
This film is very worth watching, it is Imamura's last, and contains his final commentary on life and discovering happiness.