Behind The Green Jacket

Lynch: One (directed by BlackandWhite)

For anyone who was as frustrated with David Lynch's Inland Empire as I was/am, the new documentary Lynch: One, the first in a series about the eccentric director, will at the very least help to clear up what went on behind the madness of that film.

The Loft Cinema is getting ready to go Lynch crazy, first with the release of this documentary, along with a brand-new 35 mm print of Eraserhead that screens from February 15-21.

Lynch took a huge gamble by making Inland Empire, which was shot entirely on digital video and used two polar opposites for locations, Los Angeles and Lodz, Poland. You can see Lynch's frustrations with his project during the course of the documentary; he's not entirely sure where it all is leading and yet he soldiers on, hellbent on following through with his vision.

Lynch is obsessed with factories, you see--that's why he went all the way to Lodz to photograph some 1,400 of them. It's what inspired Inland Empire. You kinda just have to shrug, go "OK!" and move on.

Another key point of discussion is Lynch's dedication to transcendental meditation, which he has practiced daily for the past 30 odd years, but has only just recently come public with it, setting up a foundation and writing a book about the creative fruits that are borne from it.

If anything, I ended up having even more respect for Lynch after watching this documentary, as you can see how dedicated he is as an artist, not to mention charmingly kooky. Lynch greets members of his website by giving updates about Inland Empire, as well as a daily weather forecast. We're also treated to Lynch's various tales, including one particular funny one about Lynch attacking a bloated cow.

Lynch fan or not, Lynch: One makes it hard to deny that he is anything but a visionary with no signs of slowing down yet.