Twin Perfect's analyses served to block out any possible other interpretations - for TP and MD. I much prefer the less categorical, not taking himself too seriously approach of this guy.
David Lynch is my favorite filmmaker and I think Inland Empire is by far his most underrated work. It's very challenging, which is offputting to some, but the challenge of it is what makes me so enamored by it. I love that there is a youtuber that loves his films and tries to tackle them.
Thank you CPF so much for putting this together and also taking the time to do this version...I also got the dreaded blocked message on your original upload and was gutted! Such a nice surprise to have been able to watch your video, I love it, the best companion to the film I have seen.
Just came over from your The Shining video explanation, and I've subscribed. So here's to hoping you can approach Inland Empire and unravel its perplexity.
Great work as always, Matt. I really enjoy your editing style as well. Since we are between Lynch projects at the moment, have you considered doing reviews of the works of other film auteurs, such as Cronenberg, Yorgos Lanthimos, Charlie Kaufman, Tarkovsky, Kubrick etc.?
I've had a million different ideas, though I've not thought of any of those specifically (actually don't even know who Lanthimos is). Right now I'm mostly concentrating on getting through Me and My Shadow. I've meant for years now to do a piece on Donnie Darko and its director's subsequent career, but it kept getting sidelined. It would give me the chance to dress up like a different rabbit though, so who knows?
3 года назад
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks I guess you will enjoy The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Favourite from Lanthimos. He is very talented. Donnie Darko is a great idea!
Pretty good. More needs to explored about how Lynch's recurring motifs. He loves cinema but he grapples with reconciling that with the superficiality of Hollywood.
Dr. Corn Pone is most definitely in the house. The only thing I could possibly add is; the way the rabbits are a scathing indictment of everything. 3 camera Desilu production style, &etc.
This was remarkably concise, particularly in light of the degree(s) of complexity that was/were so deftly addressed. Bravo....and greetings from Van Nuys CA :)
...and criminally under-seen. Both this analysis and the film itself. This should have 100+K views by now. The main problem with I.E. is access - it streams badly, and we currently must wait for over a month for a (non-Criterion) Blu-Ray from China to get here.
I got my blu-ray copy from Germany as part of a box set with Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, though as this post is three months old, I guess you probably have your copy by now.
Monday I discovered that the video had suddenly been blocked in every country besides the US and Canada, so I re-edited the piece of the video that got flagged so hopefully it wouldn't set off Content ID this time. Only time will tell...they took five days to bitch about it last time.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks may I ask what you think the content was that got flagged? I have never created nor posted any content, so I am ignorant to the ways of the flag. Plus I only watched this version.
@@milesrobertson6882 It was a long stretch of video that didn't have any edits made by me, which meant that their computers were able to recognize it and decide that this clearly fair-use video should be blocked, lest anyone actually decide to watch the movie I'm discussing...it makes no damn sense at all.
This is the best (most precise) film by David Lynch in my opinion. Hypnosis is the recurring theme here. There are a lot of important details that you can mistake for imperfections due to the video quality. One cue is the scene of misunderstanding between the director and Bucky J played by Lynch. There is a squeal of the door as the old witch enters the house and says hello. A bird flies right above as Nikki enters the studios. And so on and so on. Btw I hated it the first time I saw it.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks I considered that but Lynch is so intentional and each rabbit has its own clearly defined shadow. Was wondering if it maybe represented the viewer or something. I have to keep looking into it. Thanks for the reply! You’re probably right here.
I hear that said ABOUT Lynch a lot, but I've never actually heard it FROM Lynch. Like with Kubrick, people have decided that everything he does is incredibly specific, without really justifying why they think that is.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks right. I guess I just meant from Twin Peaks, etc., small details seem to matter, when they matter :) My friends who watched with me brought it up and I looked at it and I couldn’t deny that each rabbit had a specific shadow and then there was a fourth. I knew it was prob nothing and as you said, a lighting thing, but wanted to pose the question in case it was one of those “ohhhh the old fourth shadow issue.” Haha. Again thanks so much for the reply and exchange. Very much appreciated.
This video deserves a million more views, at least. Forget the fucking IE analysis (!) -- the fact you present this as one of the rabbits! I mean...?! Ok, I'm going to check the rest of your channel now, I think I'm up for some goodies
The rabbit head actually made the video easier to do. I didn't have to memorize any lines for the on-camera bits; I just read the script and then cut in bits of me nodding my head in the costume on top of the narration.
(Okay, for real, show of hands: After the original post of this vid was (briefly) unavailable due to YT's temporary copyright-claim shenanigans....how many IMMEDIATELY downloaded this new version, just in case? Just me? 0_0 ?)
Honestly, I don’t think Inland Empire deserves an analysis as good as this. Lynch has good ideas but tends to get lost in them. The story isn’t very well told, and the 3 hours are completely unnecessary. It’s a shame because a movie like this has potential. Did you like this movie on a personal level?
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks I saw this blogger “I talk you bored” with a 15 page analysis of the movie. He didn’t like it personally but thought the analysis part was fun 🤷♂️
@@Corn_Pone_Flicksyeah, when I tend to like something I can see more into it with my own personal abstractions. I’ve seen most of your lynch videos and I’m with you every step of the way! Keep it up with your film as well, wishing you the best 🎉❤
@@thoso1973 I do wish that people who don't like a video would bother to actually say why, instead of the digital equivalent of driving by and yelling "Fuck you!" out the window. At least it could possibly be constructive.
I looked around after posting this to see how many other videos existed on the subject, and there were very few. One of them was just a text-to-voice program reading the Wikipedia entry, which does not attempt to explain the film and which isn't even factually accurate to what happens in it. I know it's not the most famous film in the world, but I was surprised by its lack of coverage.
Inland Empire has always given me the feeling reminiscent of one of those endless dreams where you feel as though you're fading in and out through a series of surreal worlds each with its own concept of logic, meaning and purpose It's one of my favourite films of all
3 года назад
Brilliant! You made me see the film again and it's all clear now. One more thing about Axxon N, the doors and the "longest-running radio play in history". So, an axon plays the role of transmitting electrical impulses - or informations - within the nervous system, from a neuron to other neurons.
I really loved this video. I’ve adored this film forever and always find it so emotional each time I watch it. Thanks for lending your emotional connections. What a beautiful film this is!
It just gave me an excuse to watch it again. And yes, much needed! Even as a deep Lynch and sunset boulevard fan, I hadn’t worked out IE this well and certainly couldn’t have explained it. ♥️
Thanks for looking out for us Europeans. I was lucky enough to watch it before it was removed anyways (didn't know it got removed actually) but I don't mind watching it again :)
Great job once again. And not an easy task by any means. I like to think of it as Lynch's Finnegan's Wake. There was so much to unpack, you didn't even pretend you were in Poland. As an aside, there is some great material in the extras "More Things That Happened" especially a scene with the Lost Girl buying a "lucky watch" from the Phantom. Stellar.
I recall that there was actually a backstory for that red lamp, as well, but getting into all of that just seemed to be a case of going too far...it's weird enough as it is.
I hope so, as well. The automatic blocking of videos that clearly fall under the definition of fair use and the risk of making it an actual legal issue are frankly ridiculous, and RU-vid needs to stop fucking with its customers.
Yes, you realize to watch their film. I watch this movie two times after your video. I really love this movie.....and also all of your video. regards from province of Québec (Canada).
Hooooo boy. Corn Pone Flicks and Lynch: always wonderful. Matt, you cleared out some of the cobwebs from my brain that had prevented me from enjoying Inland Empire as fully as I should. Looking forward to Me and My Shadow, too. Seems like a sprinkling of Lynch in that, too, if the trailer is anything to go by. Which is no bad thing.
That one shot of the red lamp (which is the same one I used at the start of this video) is a bit Lynchy, I'll admit, but I wouldn't say the film in general has much of his influence. If anything, I'd say it's more like John Carpenter.
I appreciate how this video just goes over the structure and points out the allusions and references that this movie makes while still not trying to explain the entire film away. As Lynch would say, to leave space to dream. Thank you for this concise and insightful overview.
I’ve watched this countless times and every time it just renews my appreciation for the film. Lynch has a way of telling a story in a way that is only possible or coherent in the medium of cinema. Love the way you do your videos and all the effort that goes in, so just showing my appreciation for all the hard work.
One thing that Twin Perfect got right that I don't see too many giving him credit for is that David Lynch is not just a "random" or a style over substance artist...he provides everything you need to solve it...we are just babies who are too intellectually lazy to take what is right up there on screen and deal with it...I'm just as guilty as anyone. Thanks Corn Pone Flicks for the inspiration to delve even deeper because you have explianed what is there in IE...now it'll be fun to think of "why it is there" and what Lynch is saying through this story that adds to the story of Sunset BLVD as he "wouldn't make a remake"
I would say that it's hard for our intellects to find points of reference as jumping off points to even get started in understanding it. For me there comes a point where I have to say, if it's that abstracted and obscure, is it a journey I even want to bother with? After a couple of abortive attempts to watch it, so far that's a no, but maybe when I'm ready in the future....
I've watched it several times and love it. But I seem to recall it pissing me off on first viewing. Actuall, that's how it is with all of lynch's works for me.@Danthehorse
I cannot believe that this is soooooooooo well done!!! this is my favorite movie and THIS interpretation is incredible! its SUCH a difficult movie, and i thank god everyday for that. i can watch it over and over. have you considered "More Things That Happen"?? its also amazing! Also, your channel is 🔥🔥🔥
I'm pretty sure the "how" would just boil down to "magic," which isn't really a real explanation, but there's no actual logical way to explain why an object would impart luck.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks But do you have any theory on their story-telling function in the context of your reincarnation interpretation? I guess it has something to do with the telling of time... :P I have spent so many hours analyzing IE and MTTH, but I am still puzzled by some of the objects and themes. The watches and clocks, the light bulbs, colors, etc. However, I heard that the light bulb in The Phantom's mouth was a prop picked at random, because David didn't like the guy's glasses and wanted to replace them with something.
@@maxleander8746 That's possible...Lynch is known for doing things spontaneously and then coming up with the "why" of the matter later...his own cross-cutting draws a connection between that bulb and the red lamp. The one time we really see the watch in the finished film is when Sue is burning the hole in the silk, when we see a close-up of it running backwards, suggesting she is, in some sense, going backwards in time. The Phantom does say "It tells the time," after all.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Right! I failed to make that connection. So, when the Phantom tells Lost Girl that the watch can bring good luck, it could basically refer to "someone in the future, half-reincarnated from you, will use time travel to "see" and free you from my curse". Or something like that...
Just the other day, I was dismayed to find that the original vid had suddenly gone missing, for viewers here in Japan...and even before I even got a chance to crank off a message to you about it, you already addressed & fixed the issue; CPF is on the ball, as usual! :)
Great Video! At the end of it I'm personally inclined to choose to believe that all appearances of laura dern are in the head of the lost girl and all the other things you said which can fit in. Btw for other viewers who already don't know :Alain Resnais uses similar rabbits in "My American Uncle". Although i must say Inland Empire is more similar to Resnais' Last Year in Marienbad in terms of reality and memories being muddled up.
I just wanted you to know that I'm watching all of your videos over several days because it seemed to cause you pain that people only watched The Shining or Twin Peaks ones! I had always assumed that a Comments Section lasted forever, but I got educated by some Gen Z goon recently who whined at me for continuing a "dead thread" and I hadn't even realised until then that only strange, obsessive weirdos like myself watch videos more than once sometimes!!! If u don't comment on a video immediately after watching it and then immediately forget it again, ur not normal apparently. Which is why I wouldn't worry about trying to appeal to the majority of the goldfish out there and keep this channel as a bastion of everything superior on RU-vid because good quality content will always gain more fans over time. This is the only Lynch film which I don't like, and it annoys me because I love everything else of his SO much. Your video is the best analysis I've seen by far and yet I still just can't like this movie. I really believe that Lynch was believing his own hype too much by the time he made this one (Hear me out, ok?) and I think he was using a formula that he figured couldn't go wrong and because he had no film crew and no equal-level person like Mark Frost to rein him in, he ended up making a movie that is pretentious, often dull, almost incoherent etc. I never lost hope in his greatness, however (in the same way that I haven't lost hope in yours) and Peaks: The Return blew my socks off and proved beyond doubt that the guy is the best filmmaker alive in the World today (after yourself, of course). So, my point is that sometimes you need to go too far and fail and produce a lazy piece of work to learn who YOU are. If ur a great artist, u will learn from your mistake and vow never to phone it in again.Because great art ain't about easy, and Lynch had it too easy when he made this one, I reckon lol
Same way my latest video has only 1700, when similar videos I've seen by others have literal millions of views...RU-vid's algorithm doesn't like channels like mine. It's not monetized, I don't post frequently, I refuse to self-censor, and I don't stick to one single topic. Most people won't do what I do, because they care more about money than saying what they want when they want to. It's sad, but it's nothing new. Glad you liked it, by the way.
pretty good review but there are no reincarnations, the film is very heavy in metaphors, susan and nikki are lost girl so these 3 characters tell the tales of 1 person and there are other characters like this, sometimes they represent metaphors too just like bob from twin peaks and phantom very clearly the embodiment of something not someone, lots of themes not cited in the video.
If it's so very clear, perhaps you should make your own video delving into the film. Incidentally, I agree that Susan/Nikki are Lost Girl...that was my entire point with the "reincarnation" explanation.
Eh, its more that Lost Girl is projecting her life onto Nikki's performance, as Nikki is invoking real experiences to create the fictional Sue. This is why their are 2 Sues. One is Lost Girl's projection, the other is Nikki's invocation.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa close one;] There's much more into it, like the phantom representing jungian shadow (here it is destroyed by Sue's light! shadow, light..), Lynch's typical red and blue charade, screwer is not what it seems, axxon which is an antenna connector and a whole lot more..
If I'd ever once heard David Lynch talk about psychology, then I might approach it from that point of view, but despite reading three books about him (two BY him) and seeing countless interviews, I've never heard him discuss Jung or Freud or anything to do with psychology...the word he inevitably uses is "mood." He also talks a fair bit about meditation, but that's a whole different beast. "Axon" refers to a type of nerve cell, but "Axxon" is a software company.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Why i haven't noticed you did reply..? Another mystery, i guess ;) Wouldn't it be agaist his own rules - to put Jung on the table in any straight forward mentioning? Idk. I'm not going to waste your time on arguing about that. What i'm certain of (and you're as well, i'm sure about that) is that he started this movie as "random shootings" in Poland. I say "random", but of course intuition was the glue before anything started to make rational sense to Lynch. Thing is.. i'm polish, and there are definitely some bits in the movie i'm sure he was exposed to when visiting. For example: do you remember that piece he made for the soundtrack, called "Woods Variation"? Well, as someone who briefly lived in Łódź, i know it is also called Holly-Łódź (you pronounce "Łódź" as.. "Woods"!) due to lots of film schools and all the great filmmakers who studied there. So it's not outside the realm of possibility that the lost girl was trying to become a successful--hollywood-like fame--actress at some point of her life. Maybe she was trying to get her big role through "the couch" (the back alley)? Idk, there are lots of other things. But she's definitely not a sex worker. Either way, i'm sure our blonde protagonist gains diegetic awareness, though it's unclear to me is it during the first rehearsal (it could also be her conscience that interrupted at first, when things were happening, and later on she revisited it via memories as the interruptor) or when she was having that "nervous breakdown" with digital effects [filmed with digital cam;]. Ps. I don't know why the "lost girl" (Karolina Gruszka) played in such a weird manner here -- she really is a decent actress, yet here her acting is.. kind of.. wooden [no pun intended]. Ps2. Both axon and axxon could apply -- like, did Lynch ever use those little black Axon Body 1, Axon Body 2.. a number from 1-4 cams policemen wear on their chests? Making it Axon Body n..? One of my theories is that when H.D. Stanton says about the "There is a vast network, right? An ocean of possibilities" - he is just talking about the internet. Maybe it's connected to the lost girl's failure, like, something has leaked and went viral? Ps3. And our glorious etymology, since all those names matter. Susan.. "lily of the valley", as one site states it :]
I tried to find somewhere else a few years back, but every other platform I checked into was even worse than RU-vid, which is frankly a bad way to compete with a monolith...you really have to offer more, not less, to your potential customers.
Hats off to you, well done for decoding it. I had to hold my hands up and say ' I'm not up to understanding this one'. My natural way is to let things wash over me and let my intuition inform me, but that doesnt work with something like this. If it needs another person to spend 25 mins explaining it to me, its just wilfully obscure in my book , something I react against. My loss ? Of course! I think a few people have the frame of mind and instinctive inbuilt ciphers to understand the underlying mechanics that the film functions on. If you dont have that, it's a crap shoot of brute force code breaking. One day I will try again , I dont like to give up.
I've heard that one of the best ways of figuring something out is to explain it to someone else, and that was my final step in preparation for this video. Maybe give that a try, as well.
In the scene where the director (Jeremy Irons) is speaking to his gaffer through a megaphone in order to lower a light, I remember a scene like that in Sunset Boulevard as well.
One thing that puts this one way up there is how I.E. has the most brain-crunching 'eye of the duck' scene of any movie I can remember - *that "Nikki/Susan''s sidewalk bleed-out followed by "Cut!"" shot.* It's as though Lynch was paying tribute to dePalma's cold open from _Body Double_ and then logistically two-ups dePalma...doubly such. :D
Well, rabbits are of the order Lagomorpha and are closely related to rodents. They hop rather than run as their primary form of locomotion and are noted for their large and sensitive ears which the animal uses to detect the approach of predators. The rabbit tends to live in social groups in burrows commonly known as warrens. They are not typically recognized for their ability to speak or iron clothes, but such traits have been imposed upon them by directors such as David Lynch, who likes to poke fun at TV sitcoms and is a bit weird.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks maybe I should have been more specific. Or perhaps you cannot really explain what the hell is going on in Rabbits either. But I was right. I did enjoy your explanation of rabbits. 😁
I was having a bit of fun. But I think it's a spoof of sitcoms by a guy was esoteric tastes, and that's it. I don't think all art has, or is even meant to have, an explanation.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks and on the surface, I would agree with you completely. But after watching how some of his scenes seem to align perfectly with other scenes when played together, there is a part of me that believes if you could just stumble across the right context, Rabbits makes perfect sense. I know it’s a pipe dream. Lynch will never tell us one way or the other. In the meantime, I sure do enjoy your videos. They’re very insightful. 😀
One thing Lynch HAS said is that his work isn't about syncing different things up. He used the word "bullshit" to be exact. I expect he'd hate the idea of people re-editing his work, and it's hardly fair to expect the audience to have to have access to editing software in order to understand what he's saying.
Amazing work! 👍 Does anyone know why some parts of the movie are separated to colorful and black & white? Some time ago I thought it's dream and reality (and thought the same trick was done in twin peaks s3 monica belucci scene), but in reincarnation narrative it's hard to find an explanation.
I doubt it's plot-related, honestly. Lynch is very much a visual artist, and may often choose things for aesthetic reasons rather than plot or theme-centric reasons.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Could be. Btw, when I watch Mulholland Drive I can see that the "dream" part is a bit blurry and shiny, unlike "real" part. But it was probably used for both plot-related and aesthetic reasons
this is great, but can you explain what the fuck happens in Ironman! in one scene he was in a cave, in the other someone that sounds and looks like him was flying, like WTF is goin on ?!
With IE, Lynch is building on his previous films by first establishing a familiar scenario; a disturbed psyche inventing a fantasy that gradually disintegrates under the weight of the psyche's trauma and guilt. However, through Lynch's introduction of a source folk tale and an evolution of said tale into thematic and cinematic repetitions over generations - a more global picture of a collective psyche so to speak - Lynch is equating an individuals invented fantasy with the whole of cinema itself. The fantasies inherent in cinematic storytelling are in fact psychological defense mechanisms of the collective unconscious. More specifically, the depiction of women as subservient, deceptive and sexually promiscuous as being the result of projected male misogynistic paranoia and the need for the reversal of this collective neuroses by fighting fire with fire, so to speak. To invent a new cinematic collective defense mechanism that inverts this male gaze and frees these trapped female depictions from the bonds of said projections.
I think this is, to quote Roger Ebert, something you brought to the film rather than something you found in it. I seriously doubt Lynch, a man in his 70s, cares one whit about this currently popular Millennial-era deconstruction of the so-called "male gaze" or anything of that nature. His filmography as a whole shows he's rather found of observing the female form, and I see no irony in it anywhere.
As an antithesis, what would you see that would be an antithesis of this. Elaborate; what types of themes? I’m just curious, and want to discuss this take
i tend to wonder if you match lighting to the source material for your filmed portions with actual lights and gels, or if you just screw around with colours in premiere pro until it looks right. i'd guess the answer is a bit of both.
It's a bit of both, but for the opening of this one I used an adjustable LED lamp, and my wife is moving it back and forth to create the lighting change.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks if lynch isn't going to release anything else, then i will anxiously anticipate your contributions to the surreal zeitgeist instead.
Narrative depends if film is paranormal, like entities in Twin Peaks. You could add stories about curses or purgatory... But you have also movies like MD or LH which are based inside ones head. Like dream in prison or diane going to be at start of movie. 1. At start we see girl watching television which has no signal. 2. Then we see rewind of stuff she we are going to see later, like that old "brutal" lady. 3. Then we see that in fact television still has no signal which indicates everything she sees is complete fantasy. Its empty and then we see fading to rabbits. 4. 01:43:30 - we see reflection of this sitting girl crying in backround upset about this murder that happened. Everything is still in her head. 5. At end we see she hugs woman which will dissapear = More hallucinations 6. She runs downstairs and hallucinates that her husband and son is waiting for her. She is eather having somekind psychosis or amnesia and she sees half fantasy, half releated to her maybe traumatic past.
I've gone from a Lynch disdainer to a fan, due largely to commentators like you, CPF. And I started with Twin Peaks (technically, I started with Dune).
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks I enjoy the new Dune, as I think Denis sensibilities fit the material and it is true to the book. But as imperfect as it is,, I do love Lynchs Dune and its mishmash of elements, from its retro feel, both the 80s era and its hearkening back to earlier Flash Gordon-esue atmosphere and Lynch's own style on that grand Frank Herert book. For those who have eyes, they will see.
