David Lynch: The Art Life

David Lynch takes us on an intimate journey through the formative years of his life. From his idyllic upbringing in small town America to the dark streets of Philadelphia, we follow Lynch as he traces the events that have helped to shape one of cinema's most enigmatic directors. David Lynch the Art Life infuses Lynch's own art, music and early films, shining a light into the dark corners of his unique world, giving audiences a better understanding of the man and the artist. As Lynch states "I think every time you do something, like a painting or whatever, you go with ideas and sometimes the past can conjure those ideas and color them, even if they're new ideas, the past colors them." "Artfully interwoven with inserts of his surreal paintings, the film repeatedly shifts from the present to a second level: the masterful storyteller Lynch—focused and humorous, tender and philosophical, always with a sense of suspense—brings his childhood and youth to life, visually complemented by photos and private film footage. His stories begin with his sheltered childhood in provincial America, his fascination with foreign worlds – such as that of insects – and extend through his turbulent teenage years to his art studies and first short films. Particularly at the beginning, tension develops from an apparent paradox: with so much of an ideal world, security, and understanding from his parents, where do the abysses, violence, despair, and fear in the artist's work come from? [...] Far more than the origins of individual motifs, however, the film focuses on the secrets of creativity, the extraordinary freedom with which Lynch draws from the unconscious and deals with its mysteries. “The Art Life” allows us to share in this freedom for almost 90 minutes, is as open and curious as its protagonist, and infects us with its enthusiasm for the products of the imagination. You can't ask for more from an artist film." (Patrick Seyboth, on: epd-film.de)