Summary of David Lynch's works: The Natural born artist whose identity will never be understood

8. "The Straight Story" (1999) 111 min.

(c)1999 STUDIOCANAL

73-year-old Alvin Straight drives a lawnmower across Iowa to Wisconsin to visit his sick brother. This true story, published in the New York Times, was turned into a film by David Lynch. At first glance, it seems like a heartwarming film that is unlike Lynch's (and it is), but the characters that appear are definitely Lynchian in their own eccentricities, such as twins who charge exorbitant fees to fix broken lawnmowers, and a middle-aged woman who hits a deer with her car almost every week. Even though this is a road movie that follows the classic path of American cinema, you can feel his presence everywhere.

Richard Farnsworth, who played the lead role, was suffering from terminal cancer, but he mustered his energy to continue filming until the end, and his performance was recognized and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. However, on October 6, 2000, the year after the release, he committed suicide by shooting himself with a shotgun.

Read more: "The Straight Story" A remarkable surrealist's exploration of mundane subject matter

9. Mulholland Drive(1999) 145 minutes

(c) Photofest / Getty Images

Betty (Naomi Watts), who dreams of becoming a Hollywood actress, and Rita (Laura Harring), who has lost her memory. The story of these two women is set in Hollywood, the movie capital. Eventually the boundary between reality and dreams becomes blurred, and a mysterious and beautiful nightmare story unfolds. Just as the theater manager says in Spanish, "This is an illusion," everything that happens in this movie may be an illusion.

The original plot was conceived for the second season of Twin Peaks. It was eventually planned as an independent TV series, but that also fell through, and it was finally made into a theatrical film. In 2016, it was ranked first in the BBC's "100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century," beating out In the Mood In the Mood for Love(2000) and There Will Be There Will Be Blood(2007).

Read more: Does the classic puzzling film ' Mulholland Drive' expose the dark side of Hollywood?

10. Inland Empire(06) 179 minutes

(c) Photofest / Getty Images

Inland Empire Empire. This film is truly a perfect Lynch world, with David Lynch handling not only the direction, screenplay, and production, but also the music, photography, and editing (Lynch also acquired the independent distribution rights for the video software). The production was extremely personal, with the actors given a few pages of the script written on the day, and the film shot with a Sony handheld camera.

Actress Nikki Grace (Laura Dern) and the stories of a lost girl and a rabbit man (?) who exist in another world are strangely intertwined to form a chaotic space. During the three-hour screening, question marks will inevitably continue to flash in your mind. This is a solitary and supreme fantasy story in which the essence of Lynch is condensed to the limit.

Read more: "Inland Empire" - David Lynch's strange world leads to salvation through film?

We have 10 feature films left to go. Someone will no doubt continue to try to solve this mystery that will never be solved. The adventure surrounding David Lynch continues. Finally, here is one of my favorite quotes from Lynch:

"I don't know why people think art is meaningful when they know for a fact that life is meaningless."

Text: Rui Takeshima

A pop culture writer who focuses on movies, music, and TV. Host of the web magazine "POP MASTER" ( http://popmaster.jp/ ).