April 26, 2026

David Lynch passed away on January 16th, 2025. And while I never need an excuse to revisit his filmography, now knowing that he was gone filled me with a both a sense of curiosity and obligation to reexamine all of his work, starting from the very beginning to now.

Every couple of years, we can revisit a certain filmmaker and take away new things from their art, solely based on where we are in our own journey in life. But there’s something about celebrating someone’s work after they’re gone, knowing that this is it. This is their full body of work. This is all there’s ever going to be. And we can now contextualize it in that way.

It took over a year, but I went through all of David’s films again, and appreciated each and every one of them in a new light. With the exception of the TWIN PEAKS pilot and the FIRE WALK WITH ME MOVIE (and it’s companion, THE MISSING PIECES), I skipped including the TWIN PEAKS TV series and it’s sequel THE RETURN. Those will have to be the focus of another article, but for now, I just wanted to focus on the feature films. It’s a strange, surreal ride indeed. Let’s begin, shall we?

JANUARY 2025:

ERASERHEAD (1977) 

This is a film I come back to every couple of years and hope that one of these days, I’ll finally “get it.” I still don’t quite “get it” but I understand it now in the overall context of David Lynch’s work. There was no one quite like him, and my personal take on this film is we’re living out a 90 minute fever dream / nightmare of a very anxiety filled character, worried about being a father.

IMDb synopsis, just for clarity: “Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newborn mutant child.”

There are traces of the quirky relationships and family dynamics that would become synonymous with Lynch’s future work. But there’s also his trademark obsession with SOUND. The movie is wall to wall sound design which feels like a character in of itself. The drones and static are unsettling, and I think it’s part of the reason that you can take just about any frame from this movie and instantly recognize it. And you’d more than likely hear that droning sound as soon as you see that image. It’s rare that any piece of art could attach itself to your psyche that way and activate a number of your senses simultaneously. But that’s the power of Lynch, and the power of Eraserhead.

Kudos to Mel Brooks. I can’t imagine seeing this movie and ever thinking, “THIS is the man to tell the compassionate and beautiful story of THE ELEPHANT MAN!!” But… he saw something here and knew that greatness awaited. Bless Mel Brooks.

FEBRUARY 2025:

DURAN DURAN: UNSTAGED (2011)

Was reminded that David Lynch had directed this Duran Duran concert film when I broke out my The Music Of David Lynch record the other day and the band mentions it before their song!

So, I searched and Tubi had it streaming for FREE with ads! I’m a moderate Duran Duran fan. I definitely like a lot of their music. But I’m not a die hard by any means.

This is a pretty great Saturday morning background watch. It’s got the traditional concert film backdrop, but of course, Lynch superimposes his weird and quirky visuals through out to deliver something that is totally “Lynch-ian.” (He also does a fun introduction at the top of the film.)

Worth a watch and listen!

THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980)

I love this film. And I love revisiting it every couple of years.

Having just seen ERASERHEAD, I finally see a lot of that movie in this. The true story of the deformed “Elephant Man,” John Merrick. Much like Van Gogh in the Don McLean song, he was “much too beautiful for this world.”

Loosely based upon the true story of Joseph Merrick (a flawless performance by John Hurt), “John” is discovered by a well respected surgeon, Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) and brought into regular society, in part for the Dr. to study John’s horrible disfigurements. But are people capable of looking beyond the exterior of a human’s appearance and loving them for what’s inside?

This is one of those movies I vaguely remember crying through as a kid. One of the first movies to affect me on such an emotional level. Tonight, I showed it to my friend Erika for her first time and was reminded that the reason I related so much to this was I experienced the same level of cruelty from people.

In junior high and high school, I was relentlessly made fun of by other students, teachers, friends, and even family. I had a big nose and I felt like a deformed, ugly freak. It wasn’t until I was around 22 that I’d finally had enough and had the courage to get a nose job. While scary and painful at the time, it was the best decision I’d ever made because I was never going to be able to go out into the world with any kind of self confidence if I didn’t make a change to my appearance.

I guess all those moments all came flooding back while I watched it this time. And hell, even to this day, there are people that still make me feel ugly. But then there are also those that show tremendous acts of selfless kindness. And I cry anytime someone shows kindness to John Merrick.

Easily one of David Lynch’s best films.

BLUE VELVET (1986)

Continuing my deep dive celebration of the films of David Lynch with BLUE VELVET!

It’s so fascinating to watch this every couple of years, but more so now after just revisiting ERASERHEAD and ELEPHANT MAN again, along with the various clips from TWIN PEAKS that everyone’s been sharing on Instagram. BLUE VELVET feels like the center point to this entire Lynch universe. It’s where all his trademarks are present and obvious.

Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) is a bored college student and part-time voyeur. When he finds a severed ear and reports it to the police, he becomes obsessed with a gorgeous local singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) and drags along his neighbor Sandy Williams (Laura Dern) to investigate. But stalking Dorothy brings him into direct conflict with her insane, possessive boyfriend Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper)!

No one quite told a story like David Lynch. He always chose to focus on the oddest little details. What other kidnapping love triangle murder mystery would start with finding a severed ear in a field?!

The one thing that stood out for me while watching DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE was that David truly found the beauty in EVERY thing. He’d look at something like a hive with decaying insects and say, “look at how BEAUTIFUL that is.” And he meant it! I’ve seen a behind the scenes photo circulating from TWIN PEAKS where he says, “look how beautiful those curtains look. Look at that, so beautiful.” That’s just who he was. And I loved that that’s how he saw the world.

Back to BLUE VELVET, what a whacky movie that somehow stays within the parameters of a traditional narrative, something he’d abandon later on. Has Isabella Rossellini ever been more striking in a movie than in this?! Her singing “Blue Velvet?!” Movie gold. (Solid gold as Lynch would’ve said.) And Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth?! One of the most unconventional unique movie monsters of all time?! Peak Lynch. Anxious to get to WILD AT HEART now.

PS: I love Heineken.

BLUE VELVET: THE LOST FOOTAGE (2011)

So, I think I had watched this once before when Criterion first put this disc out, but my memory is fuzzy, because this all felt fairly new to me.

It’s fascinating, especially now with David Lynch gone. There’s a two-fold way to address this footage. The first, and forgive this analogy but it’s the best way I can articulate this, it’s like going to a bar and sitting in the same spot every week. You know it well, you see the same people, you order the same drink. There’s a routine and comfort to it. That’s BLUE VELVET, the movie we already know. But what if one night, you sat in a completely different part of the bar, ordered a different drink and eavesdropped on different patrons? That’s kind of how most of BLUE VELVET: THE LOST FOOTAGE feels. At least the stuff with Frank Booth! And all the bar / lounge stuff.

The second thought is, while it’s cool to see some of these other bits that were always lingering in the background, it feels like reading a novel and realizing, while interesting, you don’t NEED any of this additional information. Even if it provides slightly newer context. For example, stuff to do with Jeffrey’s college girlfriend, or the fact that he has to drop out of school because of his father’s condition and his family won’t be able to afford it anymore. Of note, however, is the extra bit of Jeffrey spying on a couple making-out in the boiler room during a school dance, showing that he’s always had this voyeuristic side to him. He interrupts when things start to get non-consensual, but not because he genuinely wants to help, I think it’s because he’s interrupted. (Also, am I crazy, or is the friend that comes to get him an uncredited John Hughes. It couldn’t be, could it?!) Didn’t really need to hang out more with Sandy’s boyfriend Mike either. There’s plenty of him in the final film.

Deleted scenes, extended cuts, they are always interesting to see. But usually, you realize there’s a reason they were cut from the final product. Still, it’s cool to get to spend just a tiny bit more time in the world that Lynch created here.

THE COWBOY AND THE FRENCHMAN (1988)

I watched this once before sometime last year, but since it’s about to leave Mubi and I’m in full-on David Lynch mode, I wanted to see it again before it left the service!

This is so quirky and fun and hilarious! Like the best, comedic bits of TWIN PEAKS but rolled up into a 26 minute short.

Harry Dean Stanton as the practically deaf cowboy Slim. His right hand men are played by Jack Nance and Tracey Walter! (Bob from Tim Burton’s BATMAN!!!!) A Frenchman comes wandering over from the hill, who is being followed by an Indian. Beers are had. Along with ketchup for those French fries. Some girls are singing in the sky. A dude is rockin’ out the country music. And all other sorts of weird hilarity ensue. See this is you can! So wonderful!

WILD AT HEART (1990)

This movie is so freakin’ bonkers from the get go!

Just in the opening 5 minute scene, David Lynch is going full Dario Argento, complete with the jarring heavy metal music, the excessive violence, the blood! He just turns the movie up to 11! It’s like the opening of RAISING ARIZONA but retold by a mental patient.

After that, it was all kind of all a revelation to me. All I vaguely remembered was Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern having a whole lot of gratuitous sex. But this time, I saw it more as a truly sincere passionate love affair amid a couple of crazy star crossed lovers!

Lovers Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lulu (Laura Dern) are on the run from Lulu’s unapproving mother (Diane Ladd), and cross paths with some strange characters on their journey, including the crazed hitman hired by Lulu’s mother!

All the actors are in peak form. Bless Harry Dean Stanton. Hell, was this the beginning of over-the-top Cage Rage?! Snake skin jacket! Slam dancin’ to metal music. Smoking cigarettes, being cool as all hell. I forgot all about Crispin Glover as Dell. (Did he KNOW he was in a movie or just in his natural habitat?) Impossible to forget Willem Dafoe’s Bobby Peru with those damned teeth! What’s surprising is he’s such an indelible part of this movie and yet he doesn’t appear until a good hour and 15 minutes into the flick!

Would I have preferred Lynch stayed on to guide TWIN PEAKS season 2 instead of jumping into this movie? Yes. But alas, we have a wonderfully weird movie, AND a ton of wonderfully weird TV as a result.

“The whole world is wild at heart and weird on top!”

TWIN PEAKS (1989)

“Diane, 11:30a.m., February 24th. Entering the town of Twin Peaks.”

It’s Twin Peaks Day! And I’d already been slowly revisiting all the films of David Lynch, so I knew I’d eventually get back to my Twin Peaks rewatch, and figured today was as good a day as any to start!

What strikes me about this “pilot” is how strong and singular a piece of work it is. It’s like David Lynch was put on this planet to gift us with exactly this. The story is as simple as finding the body of a local girl, Laura Palmer, and watching how this small town, with all its intricate secrets, relationships, and mysteries, reacts to it.

A combination of the way it’s directed, paired with the performances, and that gorgeous lush Angelo Badalamenti score, I’ve never seen a film (or TV pilot) that depicts the heavy weight of one person’s death on the entire town. Just masterfully done.

And speaking of that cast, has there ever been a more perfect ensemble assembled? There’s also those little eccentricities. Like one shot ending in the hallway with a kid in the background moonwalking out of frame. It always makes me chuckle! Who is that kid?! We never see him again! And yet, even he has a memorable moment in Twin Peaks. Seriously, I was texting with a friend who is watching the series for the first time, and they admitted each episode is as dense as a feature film, they have to watch one at a time and can’t binge it. Has any thing been as influential on TV as a medium than as Twin Peaks was? I think this changed and influenced every thing.

I watched the regular US pilot and not the European version that has an “ending” to it. I’ll return to the show itself soon enough. I still want to delve back into Lynch’s movies, and continue my deep dive cinema education with Ingmar Bergman and Krzysztof Kieślowski before binging yet another show, but this was a perfect way to cap off a long Monday!

MARCH 2025:

TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME (1992)

This is THE most I’ve ever enjoyed watching this film. It just worked for me on this viewing for a variety of reasons.

For starters, now that David Lynch is gone, it’s interesting to recontextualize his entire filmography from start to finish. So, rather than watching this after marathoning the TWIN PEAKS series, I watched it instead as one of his feature films with only the vague memory and attachment to the tv series. (I did recently watch the first 3 episodes again, but stopped because I knew I wanted to jump right to this.)

It also helps that TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN has come and gone. (I only watched it when it aired, so I’m itching to revisit that too!) So, we know this isn’t the end! There will be more after.

The first 20-30 minutes are all devoted to the unsolved murder of Teresa Banks with welcome cast additions Chris Isaak as Special Agent Chester Desmond and Kiefer Sutherland as Agent Sam Stanley. (As well as Harry Dean Stanton.) But Desmond goes missing and we flash one year later to the town of Twin Peaks in the days leading up to Laura Palmer’s murder. What’s with all the disappearing FBI agents in this world?! I kinda feel like this was X-FILES before X-FILES existed! First David Bowie’s Phillip Jeffries. Then Agent Desmond. And later Dale Cooper. (Which happens in the show, but is referenced here, because in the world of Lynch, the past and present happen simultaneously!)

I think if you let go of all connections to the show when it shifts to the TWIN PEAKS section, it’s easier to enjoy this as just some weirdo Lyncian world of pure “evil” (Bob) targeting this one troubled, complex girl. (Laura) And boy, does this get DARK. And very R rated. When you look at Lynch’s films and realize that this comes between WILD AT HEART and LOST HIGHWAY, it makes total sense as a movie.

I’m looking forward to digging back into THE MISSING PIECES as a follow up to this.

PS: I watched this while burning a coffee scented candle. Just perfect!

ALSO: I am all for Moira Kelly as Donna Hayward! I may be in the minority but I prefer her in this role!

TWIN PEAKS: THE MISSING PIECES (2014)

I had only watched this once when the Blu-Ray box set for “The Whole Mystery” came out. But watching it a day after TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALKS WITH ME is a strange, surreal and beautiful experience. A bit like time travel. Getting the opportunity to see different corners of this world and town through footage from nearly 20 years prior is pure magic.

It’s not a real narrative, it just colors in some things from FIRE WALK WITH ME. We get some extra stuff with David Bowie and Chris Isaak. But more importantly, we get a few extra moments with beloved TWIN PEAKS characters that didn’t make it into the final version of FIRE WALK WITH ME. It’s just charming to spend a couple of scenes with Norma and Ed. Or to see a humorous scene with Jack Nance and Joan Chen. I still get chills at the Agent Cooper scenes that act as a “sequel” to the original show where he says, “where am I and how can I leave?” (We were still a few years off from TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN, so this was as close we got to any kind of explanation what happened to Coop!)

I think this pairs up nicely as a chaser to FIRE WALK WITH ME. And between this and the BLUE VELVET LOST FOOTAGE, it lets us live just a little longer in a different pocket of David Lynch’s world. Especially now that he has departed from this one.

MAY 2025:

LOST HIGHWAY (1997) 

I’ll never forget that when TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN was airing, I’d get together with my friends Andrew Kasch and Joe Maddrey to watch every two weeks. Not every week, but every two weeks because then we’d watch 2 episodes and have so much to talk about! But after the mind blowing “PART 8” episode, we knew there’d be a little break, and so the gang and I got together and watched LOST HIGHWAY in that interim week. And I’ll be damned, it fit perfectly as episode 8.5 of TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN. So, I’ll always feel like it belongs in that world.

That said, ever since David Lynch passed, I’ve been slowly going through his filmography in chronological order and tonight, I got to fire up the Criterion 4K disc!

It’s as weird as I remember! And just pushes the boundaries of what we accept as traditional narrative storytelling with Lynch painting just outside the lines. David Lynch’s entire philosophy to storytelling always seemed to ask the question, “what if?” ASK the what if, but never answer it. So, for TWIN PEAKS, what if Laura Palmer got killed? How would people respond to that. He often called it the “golden egg” and being forced by the network to answer it removed the mystique of TWIN PEAKS too early. Well, LOST HIGHWAY is the epitome of “what if” with no intention of answering!

What if you’re a saxophonist, living with this beautiful goth woman in a house in Hollywood and you keep receiving mysterious VHS tapes of your house? And in one subsequent video, the videographer goes as far as to enter the house and film them as they sleep. What if creepy ass Robert Blake shows up, shaved eyebrows and all, and tells you, “I’m at your house right now.” Whaaaaa?! (Side note: how terrifying is Robert Blake in this?!)

Sure, weird things happen in David Lynch movies all the time, but this is the first time we’re, full on, in a Fulci-esque fever dream nightmare. Because suddenly, Bill Pullman’s Fred Madison (the saxophonist) is arrested and jailed for the supposed murder of his wife. Only to mysteriously be replaced by Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty) while in jail. For no rhyme or reason. The prison guard even says, “this is some spooky shit we got here.”

Ok, so now we’re following Pete and boy, does some crazy shit happen in his world. His boss is Richard Pryor!? And he fixes up cars at his shop. Including that of Mr. Eddy’s, played by the great Robert Loggia! In one of the movies most memorable scenes, Mr. Eddy is driving on Mulholland Drive when someone tailgates him. He lets the guy pass only to bump him, yank him out of his car, and beat the crap out of him, instructing him to get a car manual and learn the rules of the road! (Something every LA driver fantasizes about.)

Then enter, Alice Wakefield, played by Patricia Arquette and an obvious doppelgänger for Fred’s wife! For some reason, Pete has an attraction to her, even though she’s Mr. Eddy’s girl. And, of course, they begin a dangerous affair.

Ok, so maybe Fred’s soul jumped into Pete’s body? But these events are all happening simultaneously? Or maybe we’re watching two alternate timelines (or multiverses) intersect and intertwine? Who knows! David Lynch is more interested in the “what if” of it all.

I have to mention the soundtrack, supervised by Trent Reznor and featuring the Nine Inch Nails original track, “The Perfect Drug.” (Along with “I’m Deranged” by David Bowie and America’s introduction to Rammstein!) This was just one of those quintessential movie soundtracks for the late ’90s that everybody had!

The actual movie, I still have mixed feelings about, mainly for breaking the rules of a traditional narrative but like with all of Lynch’s work, it’s filled with great classic scenes, any of which you can watch completely out of context and recognize as a great little scene. Never forget that Siskel and Ebert gave this “two thumbs down” and Lynch just went ahead and put that on the poster. Legend!

SEPTEMBER 2025:

MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001)

I think if you could only show someone one thing that fully encompasses the essence of David Lynch’s work, it’d have to be MULHOLLAND DRIVE, which is, peak Lynch, and probably his best, most refined piece of work.

Even Roger Ebert, who strongly disliked WILD AT HEART and LOST HIGHWAY gave it a great review, because it’s power cannot be denied!

Originally intended as a pilot for a brand new TV series, this movie version almost plays out like a series of really great short films. Every scene on it’s own, whether it’s the “man” behind the Winkies, the mystery of how Laura Harrings’ Rita ends up with amnesia in that Hollywood apartment, a director walking in on his wife having a casual affair with Billy Ray Cyrus, or a simple hit gone horribly wrong in such darkly comical fashion, this is the greatest collection of crazy short films ever assembled.

I could try to explain the “plot” or make sense of all of the above scenarios, but it’s an impossibility. The closest thing we have to a narrative is Rita and Betty (Naomi Watts) trying to piece together what happened to Rita the night before in her car accident and trying to figure out who she is, exactly.

This film is so close to a perfect film experience for me, and then the last half hour happens. And it all dissipates into mist. Look, this is a personal preference. It’s frustrating that it doesn’t have a proper conclusion or doesn’t pull together all these various threads in a creative way. But that’s what Lynch’s work was all about. Asking questions, not finding answers. The moment Rita opens the mysterious blue box is kind of where I tap out. And certain characters are, all of a sudden, other characters. I get it. It’s “dream logic.” In dreams, people often shift who they are to you, and there is that weird state just before you wake up where things get jumbled and you’re not sure what the hell is going on. Then you wake up. That’s the best way to articulate the last half hour of this movie. And for some people, they love that. I don’t.

I recall my former boss from Amoeba Music saying that he remembers when MULHOLLAND DRIVE opened, he was living in New York City. He went to see it, and was so enthralled by the experience that he continued to go every night after work for four consecutive nights.

Also, in the early days of Monstermania conventions in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, I’ll never forget my (now) good friends Chris and his brother Ed coming up to me at the bar and saying, “hey man. We’re not going to freak out or anything. But you are the guy from MULHOLLAND DRIVE, right?” I couldn’t figure out who they were talking about! But for years, they were convinced I was Patrick Fischler, the guy who plays Dan and tells the nightmare story about the “Man” behind the Winkies. Interesting side-note, I did a short film with that nightmare “Man,” who in actuality is Bonnie Aarons! She eventually went on to play THE NUN in THE CONJURING UNIVERSE. (Our short film was Drew Daywalt’s THE CLOSET!)

Respect to Laura Harring. I remember her from SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT PART 3! She had all but given up on acting when this part came her way. And Justin Theroux doubling as a Lynch stand-in is pretty fun too. I just wanted to know which lead actress was forced upon him, because you know that had to have come from some real life experience!

So, MULHOLLAND DRIVE? Lynch’s best work? I think so.

DECEMBER 2025:

DUNE (1984)

I tried. (Again.) I really tried. But this is one of those movies that’s just impossible to make it through!

I’ve tried repeatedly over the years. And since Lynch passed away earlier this year, I’ve been trying to watch all of his films again. And the best I can say is that I finally sort of understand this movie BECAUSE of the new Denis Villeneuve movies! There’s a notorious video of Mike C watching DUNE where he starts screaming because the dialogue hurts his brain. And that’s how I felt, even on a Saturday morning while half awake.

The basic premise is that Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan), the son of a Duke is prophesized to unit the dessert warriors from a galactic empire that wants to strip their land of precious “spice.”

There are GREAT things that came out of this. Most importantly, the beginning of Kyle MacLachlan and David Lynch’s long running working relationship. Also, the Jodorowsky’s DUNE documentary! Which led to H.R. Giger designing the ALIEN. Oh, and Kyle MacLachlan fights Sting, ya know, from The Police. I still have yet to see Daniel Griffith’s DUNE documentary because it’s not on this Arrow 4K disc I watched! But maybe that will give me a new found appreciation for it.

I’ve got two more films left in my Lynch journey for this year in celebration of his life. INLAND EMPIRE (Crom help me) and THE STRAIGHT STORY, which I’m saving for last as a reward to myself.

MARCH 2026:

INLAND EMPIRE (2006)

My old manager at Amoeba Music in Hollywood was a huge, huge David Lynch fan, so I enjoyed hearing a lot of his thoughts and personal stories on his films.

In particular, he had told me that when MULHOLLAND DR came out, he was living in New York City at the time and for 5 consecutive nights in a row, he went to see it every night after work. Much later, he went on a date to see INLAND EMPIRE opening night, and when they both got out of the screening, they decided to end their relationship. Like, INLAND EMPIRE made them say, “ya know. This really isn’t going to work out.”

So, that’s what this movie is capable of doing to people! Ruin their relationships!

Much like with the movie itself, I need to take a break for my own sanity. In other words, I have never, ever been able to finish this. But for the sake of this retrospective, I’m going to skip ahead and give INLAND EMPIRE its own article, eventually. Because I’m intrigued by the younger Letterboxd generation’s genuine affinity for this film. And the fact that Criterion put it out means they believe it belongs in their collection! (Although, I’d argue THE STRAIGHT STORY deserves to be in there more!) So, for now, all I can do is share the above quirky story from my former boss. To be continued… !

APRIL 2026:

WHAT DID JACK DO? (2017)

David Lynch spends 17 minutes talking to a monkey. They have coffee too.

Netflix really was willing to let him do anything! Shame we never got to see the show they had planned together. One of life’s great “what ifs…”

THE STRAIGHT STORY (1999)

What a beautiful, beautiful movie.

I saved it for last in my David Lynch binge and I’m glad I did. Because it packs such an emotional wallop that it feels like the perfect capper to an incredible filmography. Lynch’s Disney film! And his only G rated “family” film at that!

Right from the start, there are these gorgeous camera shots that sweep over the town of Laurens, Iowa, all while Angelo Badlamenti’s score plays. Almost immediately, it feels like we’re in the same world as TWIN PEAKS, but maybe several towns over. In a less scary part of that world. One that’s a bit more wholesome. And bless, Lynch. He has such a genuine affection for old-timers. One of ’em comes trotting out of a bar wondering where the hell Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) is. He walks on over to his house to find good ol’ Alvin laying flat on the floor in the kitchen, having taken a fall. (Not too serious, thankfully.) But immediately, the quirky dialogue between Alvin, his friend, and his concerned daughter, Rose (Sissy Spacek) is so endearing.

Once Alvin discovers that his brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has had a stroke, he hops on his riding mower and makes the long trek to see him in Wisconsin. It’s basically a road movie! With a sweet old man and the people he encounters along the way. He ends up buying a new mower from Tom, played by the great Evertt McGill! McGill belongs in every one of Lynch’s worlds. I love how when Lynch was making TWIN PEAKS: THE RETURN, he lost touch with him and put a call out on the Internet asking about his whereabouts.

At it’s core, it’s just about a man in his twilight years on a simple journey, and no matter what, he’s going to accomplish it on his own terms and in his own way. He comes across so many interest characters along the way, like a teen runaway that is too scared to face her parents with a pregnancy. He talks her into going back home.

At one point, Alvin’s mower almost crashes and a group of concerned citizens, led by family man Danny Riordan (James Cada) practically take him in. Before he leaves Danny’s house after refusing a ride the rest of the way, he says to him, “I want to thank you for your kindness to a stranger.” And that’s the way Lynch saw most people, most small town Americans. As genuinely kind and caring for each other.

Alvin meets and shares war stories with a fellow veteran, and even shares a fire with a Catholic priest that knows Lyle. But it’s hard not to get emotional when he does finally reunite with his brother. Longing to make amends and just look up to the stars and talk the way they did as kids.

Bless Richard Farnsworth, a wonderful, wonderful actor with a genuine warmth to his voice and face. I only really knew him from this and MISERY, and this turned out to be the last film he made before passing away in 2000. Harry Dean Stanton has one scene, but man, does he always deliver, especially for Lynch. And Sissy Spacek does a lot with her short screen time as the worried, caring daughter Rose. She has a hell of a sad backstory, but everyone does in this film. And it’s just a part of who they are.

The fact that this movie isn’t as well known or easy to access is probably its greatest sin. (Come on, Disney!) I got an import Blu-Ray from Imprint, but really, this is David’s masterpiece. The film where everything good and wholesome about his idealistic views on life are in full focus and he doesn’t go for the abstract. That’s not to say that other of his works aren’t as great. It’s just this is the one movie in his filmography that I don’t think a single audience member wouldn’t fall in love with.

If you too are working your way through his movies, I encourage you to save this one for last because it truly is a gift.

Next up for Cinema Palette: François Truffaut!

Read my previous Cinema Palette columns!
Cinema Palette! My Year Watching Every Ingmar Bergman Film!
Cinema Palette: William Lustig’s MANIAC PULP!

*All of the above reviews have come from my personal Letterboxd account where I’ve gotten back into the habit of reviewing all of the films I watch. Please feel free to follow along: https://letterboxd.com/IconsRobG/