Lost Highway

Wer hätte gedacht, dass Patricia Arquette ein derartiges Potenzial in sich trägt? Sexy, wohlgeformt, üppig, blond und rothaarig. Ideal für abendliche Zerstreuung. Schade, dass sie sich in letzter Zeit nur noch als Mutter bei Medio etabliert hat. (03.12.2011)

Perhaps you have experienced the feeling of helplessness in a nightmare, when you feel an unspeakable horror, not knowing what it is, but there is no escape from it. Most people have probably experienced it, only the luckier ones do not remember it. Lost Highway is a filmed nightmare, a film that is not worth understanding, but that can be perceived and that plays on the irrational part of our psyche. Lost Highway is actually the older sibling of Mulholland Drive. It is a mysterious story of two men - each of them has a part of the film reserved for them, so that in the end their lives merge into one. Lynch filled his film with peculiar characters, including one fateful woman portrayed by Patricia Arquette. Lynch's film is a puzzle that cannot be solved even at the end of the film because the devilish director keeps some of the pieces for himself. Lynch reveals very little about his characters to the viewers, and he reveals very little to his actors as well. During filming, both main characters did not understand their roles, or rather, they did not know how to portray them, and when they turned to the director, he just smiled and let them remain in their uncertainty. How things actually were and whether the film is, for example, an exploration of the mental processes of a schizophrenic, each viewer must figure out for themselves. Perhaps it is better not to dwell on it and surrender to the atmosphere. I had a great time and I was appropriately scared. Thanks to the truly bizarre characters and the peculiar hypnotic tension, Lost Highway can be perceived as a unique mysterious horror film. It is interesting to get lost on this highway, if only for the excellent music with equally excellent lyrics. Overall impression: 95%. (05.01.2008)

I had chosen Lost Highway as my introduction to Lynch’s insanity quite some time ago, but I had such respect for it that I put it off as for long as I could. It was a big mistake. I was glued to the screen from the first minute, hypnotised by the incredible atmosphere, the weird characters and the even weirder plot, hoping that it will continue for a long time. Especially at the beginning, Lost Highway is one of the most terrifying non-horror films I’ve ever watched – I had dreams about the Mystery Man. As you can see, this film blew my mind, and not only once. The first time it was while I watched it, when I was utterly amazed by all that bizarreness, and the second time when I looked for some interpretations on the internet (no, I really didn’t get it). And I believe it will blow my mind for a third time when I watch it again and realize that none of those interpretations are correct, and that there is more, a lot more in this film. (22.02.2009)

Looks like I may have finally "matured" into Lynch. I'm still a bit annoyed that this arrogant and brilliant bastard creates a cinematic puzzle that either cannot be assembled or is beyond the grasp of the average person, and that he also uses dream passages where almost any mysterious rebellion against the conventions of classical narrative can be stuffed without explanation, but when the atmosphere is so overwhelming, the clues to unravelling all the mysteries so seemingly close, the overt sexuality so disturbing and fascinating, and the busty Patricia Arquette is such a stunning femme fatale (even if her face does look a bit like an Aletta Ocean-like porn star), it's simply impossible not to savour every patiently unfolding shot and be grateful that we have the opportunity to play such an interpretive game to begin with. I don't know what species Lynch was born from, but it certainly isn’t human... God or Devil :) 85% (01.02.2017)

I didn't get the point, and I react with a puzzled expression to interpretations of split personality, but that didn't stop Lynch from chewing me up and spitting me out with it. Only that escalating confusion just freezes at certain moments and makes Lost Highway "only" a successful toy, its main advantage being that exploring meanings keeps us from sleeping. (01.01.2006)