Lost Highway

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 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)

This is Lynch's transition to films that simply no one understands and can't grasp. Lynch doesn't make them for people to understand, but rather to derive something from them - some emotions, some impact. Even boredom is impactful. Out of the trio of films "Lost Highway," "Inland Empire," and "Mulholland Drive," this is unequivocally the winner for me, thanks to its incredibly dark atmosphere underscored by amazing industrial music in contrast to Badalamenti's more lyrical soundtrack. Nevertheless, out of Lynch's latest four major films, "The Straight Story" is still the best for me. "Lost Highway" essentially stems from the feeling of being watched. It's not a pleasant sensation, and the atmosphere reflects that. This film can have so many interpretations and none of them will be correct, but I like how everyone tries to find that one perfectly functional meaning in it. I do that too, but it simply doesn't work. (13/03/2014)

Writing an accurate and witty review of Lynch's film will probably always be an impossible nut for me to crack (and I hope not just me). Lost Highway was my second David Lynch film; the first I had the honor of seeing was Mulholland Drive. Psycho-babble, schizophrenia, darkness, inability to understand – resignation of understanding – that's my description. But the atmosphere is absolutely wonderful. However, some kind of instruction manual would be good. :) (16/06/2009)

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)