David Lynch is a very important man in the world of cinema, and an even more important man in the world of making people feel like their brains have gone 12 rounds with an electric whisk after watching his films.
The Venice Film Festival has recognised this bizarre attribute in David Lynch and has rewarded him in kind, presenting him last night with a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement award for continuing to make films that just don't make any sodding sense for 30 years. Reports that David Lynch was handed the award by a midget who only talks backwards and might be a secret evil lesbian are unconfirmed.
The 2006 Venice Film Festival this year has been a bit of a whirlwind of Lindsay Lohan trying to be political, Ben Affleck trying to pin his gigantic unpopularity on the paparazzi and people booing at Rachel Weisz. Compared to the thumping weirdness of that lot, David Lynch being awarded a Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement award by the Venice Film Festival panel seems almost quaint. According to The Independent:
The organisers said he was considered the father of independent new film-making in the US, and had paved the way for directors such as the Coen brothers, Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino. "With his visionary and disturbing style, he is one of the directors who has most strongly influenced our contemporary imagination, developing his coherent artistic career at the borders of the Hollywood industry, and fascinating the wider public with his experimentalism," the festival board said in a statement.
And the weather reports David Lynch does on his website rules too, the statement didn't add. But the Venice Film Festival organisers have a point in awarding David Lynch with the Golden Lion – let's face it, sometimes all you want from a film is a bunch of freaky shit that doesn't make any sense and gives you nightmares for a month, and David Lynch movies seem to pretty much all do that.
And speaking of freaky shit, David Lynch also used the Venice Film Festival to unveil his new movie Inland Empire. David Lynch wouldn't reveal what Inland Empire was about back when the movie was first announced, only mumbling about it being a "mystery," and – if anything – Inland Empire has only got more vague since then. Rumours suggest that Inland Empire is full of hallucinogenic scenes and a talking rabbit with the voice of Naomi Watts. Even Laura Dern – who is actually in Inland Empire – doesn't seem to have the foggiest what the film is supposed to be about, as she told journalists:
"My experience on this film was very unique to say the least, even after working with David for a long time. Each day was a different direction. Each day was a different idea because we didn't have a script we were following. Each day he would tell me what to say and do, and I would repeat it. The truth is I didn't know who I was playing – and I still don't know. I'm looking forward to seeing the film tonight to learn more."
Not that David Lynch seems to care, though. People give him awards for making this stuff and, anyway, he sort of understands what Inland Empire's meant to be about. Not that he's letting on, of course:
"It's supposed to make perfect sense… They say Hitchcock was the master of suspense and mystery. Mystery and the unknown are something I love. I love it when the lights go down and the curtains open and you go into a new world. I love not knowing what's coming."
Read more:
Lynch Given Lifetime Achievement Award In Venice – Independent
[story by Stuart Heritage]