INLAND EMPIRE: what is going on here??
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- Опубликовано: 6 июн 2024
- David Lynch’s enigmatic shot-on-video masterwork as explained by a weird basement-dwelling goblin.
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I feel like the scary maze game trend would have been 10x scarier AND funnier if the Inland Empire face was used instead.
I was thinking the same exact thing lmao
Somebody please make this lool
Okay, hear me out:
I always loved Inland Empire. I felt like it was a love letter to the people who saw Twin Peaks material and identified Laura with their own sexual trauma. Not only that, but the trauma that layers on the performance.
I felt like the crying girl and Laura Dern embracing was the traumatized performer and the IRL girl coming to terms through their horrifying trauma.
But I watched this movie after the first time I was given oxycodone and I'm Polish so..yeah
You are so right. God, I love Inland Empire.
A friend of mine first saw it with a high fever. I feel like both of you were in optimum condition.
Re: Rabbits, I would add that we use the expression "breeding like rabbits". Depicting a domestic situation with rabbits instead of humans is like reducing women and men to their reproductive roles. It's also filmed like a sitcom, with the production taking place in a a multi-cam live studio audience / theatrical set -- as if to suggest that the roles we see acted out on TV are often crude depictions of gender dynamics. And if we think about cinema and TV as a means of putting images out into the world, there is something reproductive about that. Stories beget more stories, often with the same tired tropes embedded, and they multiplly like rabbits.
I watched Inland Empire with a girlfriend who was planning on breaking up with me as soon as the movie was over, which was after midnight so I had to go home alone at 1 AM. I don't remember anything but the weird face and the rabbit costumes. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk
I’m sorry that’s kind of a crummy way to get dumped :(
A moment of respect for the garbage pail kids poster just off screen
we just gonna pretend like it deserves our respect huh?
I just watched the GPK movie the other day.
GPK still has a big spot in my heart. My Mom was shocked when I told her I haven't showed it to my two daughters. I finally found it the other day...my birthday is coming up so it might be a good time to ask for it. 👍🤗💜
The fact that the narrative of the film is hard to parse somewhat invites us to ask whether a scene is Laura Dern herself, Laura Dern as Nikki, or Laura Dern as Nikki as Sue. But when you take a step back, at the end of the day it’s Laura Dern saying words in front of a camcorder, it is because we are affected by fiction to the point that it has some semblance of reality to us that we care to distinguish the levels of narrative at play. I have no idea if I’m making sense here, this is just a thought that entered my brain and I wanted to say
I think i get what you're trying to say. David Lynch is taking us on a journey to deconstruct narritive or something like that.
Oh my gosh you are so right, very insightful!
Laura Dern was just as bewildered while acting as we are while watching, which breaks the viewer/performer barrier, so we are immersed in the raw experience of the unfolding curse and its irrational unpredictability right there with her. Which in itself is being mimicked by our avatar Lost Girl and Nikki performing as Sue Blue.
I suddenly need a two and a half hour long video of May talking about Twin Peaks. Her way of analyzing is just soooo… it makes my brain vibrate like a purring cat, I love it
One of Lynch's biographers offered the perspective that Inland Empire is very heavily influenced by his interest in Hinduism and specifically in the concept of karma, not in the pop culture sense but in the specific religious/philosophical sense of action and intent accumulating and transforming across different iterations of the self, and I think that this ties into the idea of metanarrative you put forward in a very logical and frankly illuminating way: Every story is a retelling, every life is relived, everything that is happening has happened before and will happen again. You can either let this crush you or let it liberate you.
this is what i took from it during my second viewing. the end dance scene speaks "nirvana" to me, the breaking of the karmic cycle and the ending of suffering.
I will sincerely listen to ANY movie you talk about. Absolutely hypnotic voice and analysis
I am literally reeling cuz not even a week ago I tried to look up "Nyx Fears Inland Empire" to see if May had anything to say on this weird ass movie but of course there was nothing. Apollo hit me with the gift of prophecy ig
Inland Empire being my first David Lynch movie at 19 explains way too much about me
It was also my first one, tho it was last year at 24 years old. What a way to start, Jesus XD
So Inland Empire was going to be my first Lynch film but I was 16 and lived IN the Inland Empire at the time and didn't want it to haunt me forever. Instead I watched Mulholland Drive and it haunted me forever anyway!
@@almazingsk8er The magical thing about DL movies, no matter your starting point it will haunt you to your grave and further beyond XD
Just finished Inland Empire. My first David Lynch movie at 19!
"you've probably seen the movie if you've clicked on this video"
david lynch movies give me amnesia so I can't really say if I have
Man a essay video about Inland Empire that’s not 10 years old. I’m so glad people appreciate this movie it’s one of his best.
I always thought the girls that show up were previous victims either of the curse or just violence from men. The scene where they're talking about "him" to me was them talking about their own partners--the Platonic Abusive Partner, the man every girl thought was a good person "Until", basically. They function like a chorus and they're all either dead or trapped in the curse--obviously the literal part is less important but I felt like they usually came along with death or the otherworldliness. Then in the end credits where all the women are dancing is kind of a sign that the curse either has passed over the intended victims or has been lifted--I don't think it's the same group of women exactly, but if I remember correctly the girls had been kind of musically connected, too. So they're kind of like... Both like a Greek chorus in helping to tell the narrative, existing as a group, being musically related, but they're also like grouped together as victims of domestic violence or the literal cursed narrative.
That was the one part that made me very certain about most of the stuff May has said--tale as old as time, reality and fiction influencing each other back and forth, the idea of a curse being a story that effects reality... Makes me think of killers who famously liked or were obsessed with some pop culture thing like Catcher in the Rye or a metal band, like we used to actually castigate the work itself before realizing how wild it is to think about creating something and some fucking horrible evil person watches it and is like "I love this main character" or worse, "This antagonist is so cool." Like I think Lynch like many of us can appreciate the horror of someone quoting a movie as they stab you, right? You'd be like "Fucking seriously?" but also like... it wouldn't feel as sincere, like this person is hiding behind fictionalized violence to make themselves feel better about the real violence they inflict. FTR, it also makes me think of "The Body Electric" by Hurray for the Riff Raff cuz it's a song about how many blues songs there are about men killing women and how it's reflective of real world violence--it is the song version of this movie, go watch the music video if you wanna cry.
It's the power of stories having an influence even on people who end up doing bad things, and the worst thought which is potentially influencing someone to do the bad thing without intending to influence anyone to do anything bad. It's kind of a nightmare scenario as a writer--so I kinda figured the curse was like... It's the characters repeating the actions of the story cuz you absolutely don't want to find yourself in the middle of a story, that means bad things will happen. That part was obvious to me--the curse wasn't gonna be anything except "Oh, the story is about murder, and people get murdered in the curse? Yeah got it." That's just text, 100%, and it's wild to know... There's people who missed that text who have interpretations. I'm fine with that, I can take it on the chin, but it is patently wild the one theory I'm thinking of: Laura Dern's character? That scary face? Well that's just her trying to regain her lost stardom and youthful beauty! Wow, literally where in the entire fuck did they pull that out from??? But interesting nonetheless that someone can watch this for three hours and take their own analysis very very dead seriously, enough to make a video essay announcing that was their interpretation--don't go looking for it. It's like Laura Dern's face where you're not gonna get it out of your head when you see someone interpret Inland Empire. The same person also had a wild take on Mulholland Drive, I just luckily don't remember it because he actually caught on that it was about the "casting couch" so to speak, it was just missing the empathy part of that interpretation I'm pretty certain.
I think part of my ease is that I write, do visual art, and more importantly have had a psychotic break where I couldn't tell reality from fiction/dreaming. I personally think psychosis is the brain's failure to realize that you're awake and not dreaming, so it still receives things like hallucinations, which is basically what happens to you when you dream--your delusions are your brain trying to make up for that slack, cuz it's like... You don't notice the feeling until something gets triggered, and that's when your brain has to start explaining why exactly you're hearing voices and stuff. In my experience, I just took it as my own thoughts--it was only when the psychosis got worse that the voices separated from my inner dialogue because oh fuckin boy, they talked up a storm, faster than anyone else's inner monologue ever could. It's intense stuff so I love Lynch's work for being like... it makes people besides me say "They know they're on a TV show!" or some of the wild metanarrative stuff in Inland Empire, like I very easily understood Twin Peaks quite simply because I was psychotic when I first watched it... So when certain stuff happened I just had the craziest weirdest but still very much an intuition based analysis of what happened--"Ah, clearly they are having psychic premonitions" was a very easy jump for me to make, basically. It's literally comforting to have work that puts words to a feeling that things aren't real or put visuals to feelings that are hard to name and his work does that for me.
THAT FACE is still one of my favourite jumpscares ever!
Gosh, no one does it like May. Could listen to her talk about stuff for hours. Thank you for the super interesting video and congrats on the new book!!
I love the rabbit portions of the movie, it's a whole standalone art film. I'm not kidding, I laughed and cried and was terrified by what I perceived was going on in that rabbit movie. I watched it without watching Inland Empire and therefore I had a much different experience with it, but I'm just super invested in the rabbit family satanic sitcom.
I hope this isn’t too parasocial but I missed you 😭 I just finished rewatching your nsfl iceberg yesterday because I love the sentiments you share at the end and I was hoping you would upload again soon. Your commentary is some of my favorite on this website!!
Me too. I only use insta to look at her photos
My computer glitched out right as the clip of Laura walking towards the camera started in the scary face clip so I got WAY MORE TERRIFIED than the original clip would have ever intended
Nyx, the scary face in Inland Empire is a reflection of Laura's face, as if looking into a mirror like the Tibetan book of the dead states as part of the process of reincarnating.
With the rabbit thing, when I think about it compared to some of the themes of David Lynch's films (and capitalism in the U.S.), rabbits seem to have more in common with humans than any other animal. Human beings are easily (understandably) frightened by the world, breed without much thought or consideration to bringing a whole-ass human into the world (Eraserhead), and are constantly exploited in virtually everything they do (animal testing, and the exploitation themes in Inland Empire -- which seems to focus a lot on how exploited actors are, but so is everyone who puts themselves out in public in any way). We're constantly pressured to keep going, keep making money, at an alarming rate that seems so fast that, like a car crash, we don't realized it's happened until it's over (the "quickness" of a rabbit). Overall, we are overwhelmed, scared, used, and ignorant. Like rabbits in a lab.
The thumbnail is me looking at my teeth in the mirror.
Inland Empire and Beau is Afraid back-to-back viewing. Any other 3hr "art pieces that move you in *a* direction" to add?
I heard the Inland Empire, Mulholland Drive, and Lost Highway are part of a lose trilogy in the same universe. I don't know how true this is
Probably not all that much.
They're just three films that feature a similar narrative device (partway through the film the character that you've been following as a protagonist is now a completely different person but the two characters are actually the same character)
Lost Highway: man charged with murder transforms into a younger man with no connection with the crime, then back to the original character once it becomes apparent that this was just an attempt to avoid accepting responsibility.
Mulholland Drive: a plucky aspiring actress finds a woman in distress, who has amnesia. The pair of them go on a quest to to help piece together her identity but partway through the film the characters change completely, with the amnesiac being an up and coming actress and the protagonist from the first half of the film now being a bitter failed actress who works a shitty job to make ends meet and feels betrayed by the other lead (the implication I think is that they were romantically involved, but the successful one of the two is now in a relationship with a successful male film director. This may be related to the upswing in her career and the breakdown of their relationship, but much like Lost Highway this is arguably a character study from the perspective of a protagonist who avoids being introspective and instead externalises their worst qualities and projects them onto other people, even if that's completely illogical).
Inland Empire does seem to be a lot more fluid in how it uses the idea, with the other two being split into district sections and IE using the conceit of a film within a film to have the same actress playing the same story out from several perspectives, but with less of the sense that what we're seeing is being manipulated by her to present the audience with a highly dubious account of events.
Ooo, May talking about Lynch? Hell yeah!
I'm definitely in the love David Lynch but are perfectly comfortable not having any clue what's going on. We did watch parties for The Return and at one point someone asked what was going on, I immediately shouted back "I don't watch David Lynch to understand things! I watch David Lynch to feel uncomfortable and confused!"
I have never seen anything by David Lynch but this has taught me he is a silly goofy little guy
It’s like being trapped in a dream and then realizing that all the women who’ve had the same dream are with you in it. Switches between that and then being a profoundly lonely and scary experience.
I often have dreams where I participate in the stuff that's happening, but then it turns out to have been a movie I was watching. When that actually happens in films, I have to check to see if I'm really awake.
I felt cursed after this film. It was a time when I was having all kinds of synchronicity anyway. So odd. Glad to see your face again!
I love the scene where the neighbor curses laura dern at the start!
SHES BACK WITH WHAT WE NEED
I watched this movie with me best friend on last years Halloween on one sitting, by the halfway point we started to feel like reality itself was getting melty, and when THAT FACE appeared on screen we screamed then proceeded to laugh like maniacs for a few minutes. 10/10, closest thing to taking LSD laced with cocaine and starting to chew on the walls XD
May, i think you're fantastic, and I'm glad to see you discussing my personal favorite work of Lynch's. BUT did you have feature so prominently the most terrifying bit of imagery ever? I jump scared when I scrolled past the thumbnail!
I feel like I understand that skill from Disco Elysium better now
I clicked on this video and immediately got an email back from the local clinic to (hopefully) start the process of getting hormones it’s not relevant i just liked the serendipity
I am going to be real, I have never watched the movie, I just really like hearing you talk about narratives as you bring such passion to it!
seeing inland empire at the ifc center last year was one of the top ten experiences of my life
I feel like film studies in college would've been a lot better if may was my prof
I used to hate this film until I figured out what it was about.
In the late 19th century/early 20th century, The Phantom and the Lost Girl were an item. The Phantom was a physically and mentally abusive husband which resulted in the Lost Girl seeking refuge in the arms of a lover. Her lover, however, was also married and had a son. When the Phantom (who is shown to have mystical powers that stem from an old Polish Gypsy curse) learns of this, he hypnotizes the lover’s wife into killing him and then herself with a screwdriver. He then banishes the Lost Girl to Limbo (symbolized by the hotel room we see her in at the beginning) and forces her to watch the story of her life unfold and the pain her infidelity caused him. He also curses the Lost Girl’s lover into reincarnating time and again in the role of a husband being betrayed by his wife so he can feel what the Phantom felt. The lover’s latest reincarnation sees him in the role of Laura Dern’s abusive Polish husband.
It is mentioned that the film is cursed which may play into the mystical powers that the Phantom has. So when Nikki cheats on her husband with Devon, the husband has to experience the pain of his wife’s infidelity again, and then Nikki gets sucked into the world of the film and the story plays out as it does.
The Rabbits are a supernatural force that seem to want to stop the Phantom and do so at the end by providing Nikki with a gun to kill the Phantom at the end.
When the Phantom dies, the Lost Girl is freed from her imprisonment in Limbo/the hotel room and returns to the arms of her lover (now reincarnated as Nikki’s Polish husband) who is also freed from the curse and they’re both able to live together with their son.
There is definitely the whole film within a film going on but the constant cutaways to old Poland in which we learn about the Phantom and the Lost Girl reaffirm my belief that this is a film ultimately about reincarnation and being trapped in a never ending loop until outside forces intervene.
Just my two cents. :)
Also your take on films always has me absolutely mesmerized and opens my mind to a whole other perspective that has made me enjoy films way way more, so thanks for that.
So, in short, David Lynch movies are a lot like having a dream about your crazy aunt a few days before you've told your crazy aunt that you're going to come visit. Somewhere, in the back of your mind, you've thought about her, and then the dream is a projection of that subconscious thought. And the next day, when you think about it, you're analyzing why you had that dream in the first place, and there both IS and ISN'T a deeper reason as to why you dreamt about your aunt.
Always love it when you talk about Lynch and I would be so so happy if you released more videos analyzing his work! ❤ Another great video as always, May 😊
God, I had to watch this video while covering half my screen to avoid looking at the phantom. I saw the movie once and nothing has scared me as much as that uncanny, superimposed face. I guess I could use this video to overcome my fear of this image at least. Thanks for the wonderful analysis!
I just wanted to say I'm so glad you are doing more film analysis! This is my favorite sort of video you make
One of my favorite movies of all time. I love it with all my heart and brains
I really think the second half does a poor job of establishing the new life and dynamic. Like it’s still super fun as things get more weird and terrifying (especially that scene, you know the one) but every time I show Inland to my friends they always check out a few minutes after the transition. I don’t think it’s because it’s too surreal or abstract, I think it’s just genuinely confusing who the new characters are and what there relationship is suppose to be and it doesn’t help that it’s already a decent ways through the movie.
It was my first David Lynch movie, and I was honestly surprised I went back to his work
A video from my favorite youtuber about my favorite movie has got to be the best thing to come out the day after my 21st birthday. Thank you May❤️
"It's both esoteric and direct" Oh man, that's spot on!
Thank you! Whenever you discuss a film or a book, I walk away with both a new understanding and so much more to think about. Making people think is your superpower.
Girl i missed you sm im so happy you uploaded
I saw on Twitter that you get a ton of gross comments on your videos so I just wanna say this video is great, I love listening to you speak about movies, and your hair is looking fabulous.
This is his best (most precise) film 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 David 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.
may posting opinions on movies is always queen shit
The fact that the first comment is an *actual* comment and is not just someone screaming "FIRST" makes me love this community even more 🖤
I always love getting a new Lynch video from you
I remember for a while I didn't understand how actors don't get attached to their roles or have some kind of identity disorder
I love this video and have nothing smart to say about it. But I was watching this on my second monitor and every time I ooked over and saw that goddamn face it jumpscared me like I was some kind of horror goldfish, incapable of remembering.
OTHER PEOPLE: "That face is so horrifying!" ME: "Hey anyone remember those Quiznos commercials from some years back?"
Also, yes please talk about all the David Lynch movies.
she did a cool david lynch tier list video a couple years back, recommend
@@itsmesnacksI loved that, and I am basically here for any and all David Lynch analysis. It's kind of my jam.
In terms of the movie not making sense (I'm sure YOU know this, so this info is primarily for the other viewers), part of the reason for that is because David Lynch also wanted to experiment with not having a script when making this film. So every scene was conceived of pretty much the day, at most a week, before filming it; unlike his previous films where he rigorously focussed on the script before going into production. So what ended happening was, at the end of making this film, Lynch discovered he didn't like that approach because he felt like there wasn't much intentionality or depth to the film beyond being an experiment. Thus, while he continues to shoot on digital, he decided unscripted filmmaking wasn't for him and opted to go back to scripted works.
the video hasnt even started yet and i am SHRIEKING AND THROWING UP thank u may
YEAH!!!!!! If there's any person I wanna hear talk about inland empire it's May
You just unlocked a memory of me going to raves around the year 2000 or so in London and there used to always to be a guy handing out flyers saying each flyer had a hit of acid on it. Good times
i love it when you talk about lynch im so excited
so happy to see your face again!!! wishing good vibes for you friend!
i'VE NEVER HEARD OF IT, BUT THIS IS WHY i'M HERE. bECAUSE YOU BRING ME WONDERFUL THINGS.
sORRY, i HAD MY CAPS LOCK ON BY ACCIDENT AND i REFUSE TO TURN IT OFF. 💛
syi love ur takes on movoes/ literature it gets me so excited to talk abt media i love w my friends and family and i hope to see more hot takes!
yesssss my favourite movie ever thank you for this
Yay! A new May video!
Thank you sharing this incredible analysis. You really got me to rethink a lot of what I thought about Inland Empire.
I locked eyes with Laura Dern in the background and after half an hour I'm too scared to look away
2:08 ngl May, i _haven't_ seen this movie lmao, i just really like listening to you talk about these things which you find interesting, because you're very good at talking about stuff and have clearly spent a lot of time forming your opinions on the things you talk about and find interesting. 💯
May Lynch discusses David Leitz's film Inland Empire
Babe wake up new nyx fears video dropped
have ever seen this one but i would listen to you talk about literally anything. also it’s david lynch so bound to be interesting 😂
hi I love your videos and also that's a very cool checkered mug you have!
oh my god I’m so happy one of my favourite RUclipsrs is covering this, I made my own video on this movie awhile ago but I love this video ❤
I just read your books Fluids and Girl Flesh. I loved them both. I can't wait to see what else you might write.❤
Love the new video! Really enjoyed the in depth take on Inland Empire
I finally got around to checking your music out and love it as well! I'm really hoping to afford "fluids" soon as I'm sure it will be an awesome book!
how did 40+ minutes go by so fast. hypnotic
I am bad at getting David Lynch so thank you for walking me through this.
Loved this. Discovered the channel from the Eraserhead analysis years ago
Been meaning to watch this movie for ages, so excited for this video!
Great video as always! Your personality is the best!✌️🙃
I think even the title Inland Empire is reflective of how the movie is about these deeper and darker narratives that we often try to hide from ourselves bit live in core of our inner beings. Our Inland Empires.
AMAZING! haven't actually watched the video yet, but I know this will be a great review!
She was one of few people smart enough to understand and appreciate the holy mountain, i expect the same for this surreal masterpiece!
You’re amazing ❤ Thank you so much for putting your thoughts out there for people to read 😊
The first thing i saw when i opened the app was this thumbnail and it was a jumpscare 👏 hooray new nyx upload
Inland Empire is The Phenomenology of Spirit of cinema
Oh god
J O K E R S T R I C K !
I would love an entire series where you just talk about David Lynch like I would love to hear specifically your opinions and analysis on Blue Velvet and Muholland Drive
Hey, it's good to see you!
I love your analysis and buy into a lot of your points. The burning a hole through silk: back in the days of film there used to be a little mark in the corner of the screen to tell the projectionist to change reels called a cigarette burn. Every time they do the hole in silk thing, the story advances, kind of like changing reels. I think this backs up the metanarrative interpretation. Only one thing I might disagree on… I think the girl in the room is the woman in trouble, not Laura Dern. The way I see it, none of the Lauras are actually “real.” The story resolves, indicated by Laura and the WiT embracing, and she gets the emotional release that let’s her out of her room. It’s been a while since I last watched IE, but I remember it being something I thought about for weeks.
I watched this movie a few months back and deeply tried to understand it. You have given me the only logical breakdown that I have heard so far, of what it could mean
“It blurs the line between what’s happening and what’s not happening, but either way they do do the locomotion”
Got big time Quiznos Subs vibes from that creepy face the first time I watched this flick.
In Twin Peaks, a grown man honks the nose of another grown man he's barely just met. This is responded to with a warm grin. I will never know why. Inland Empire is alot of that vibe.
Am I sick for shipping coop and the sheriff?
@@gas-lyghtchristianson-ashl5041no? That’s quite popular
@@charlieh1427 wait really?? I’m new to twin peaks and hopelessly gay so naturally I want to see them get together 😌👉🏻👌🏽🫦
@@charlieh1427 romantically though? I didn’t know, I’m new to twin peaks
@@gas-lyghtchristianson-ashl5041 oh absolutely! There’s even that blooper we’re they lean in for a kiss iirc
Haven't started the video yet, but excited because I can't think of anyone I'd rather hear go off about Inland Empire than May Leitz
after seeing this movie (for the second time) in a theater while on mushrooms, and from what i know about Lynch and his devout spirituality, Inland Empire struck me as a film about the karmic cycle of death and rebirth.
(obviously it's not JUST about this, but i thought this was definitely one of the themes.)
my prof showed us this movie in intro to film and at one point we were all asleep - I was out 4 half an hour but I don't think that changed the viewing experience at all. great movie
Song in the end is perfect