Review: Lynch/Oz

Image courtesy of Dogwoof.

It's noted by film critic Amy Nicholson early in "Lynch/Oz" that the classic 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" was, much like the ubiquitous "It's a Wonderful Life," a flop at the time of its release. Over the years, it became a beloved film after being broadcast on television. It was likely there that a young David Lynch saw the picture and was seemingly transported by it.

In Alexandre O. Philippe's documentary, Nicholson and five filmmakers - including John Waters, David Lowery and others - discuss how the influence of "Oz" can be seen on Lynch's work. This may sound like an academic exercise, but "Lynch/Oz" is a rigorous and fascinating piece of documentary film criticism. It's easy to see the influence of Victor Fleming's classic on Lynch's 1990 road picture "Wild at Heart," but its fingerprints are all over many of his other works as well.

Lynch, like so many great musicians and other artists, has taken a piece of art that spoke to him at one point and injected it directly into his own work, mostly in subtle and occasionally unnoticeable ways. As Waters - a director who also claims to have been inspired by "Oz," and you'll laugh when you realize he's right amid clips of his own work - and other narrators in the film point out, "Oz" has an outsized influence on so many films that tell the stories of characters who find themselves as strangers in strange lands who strive to make their way home. 

Once you know where to look for them, "Oz" pops up all over Lynch's mysterious and fascinating pop surrealist films - characters click red shoes together ("Wild at Heart") or are named Dorothy ("Blue Velvet") or Judy ("Twin Peaks"), as in Garland, and in my favorite personal touch, Lynch uses curtains as symbolic doors to other worlds ("Blue Velvet," "Twin Peaks" and "Mulholland Drive"), much like the curtain in "The Wizard of Oz" concealed the mystery behind the titular character.

The biggest surprise for me in "Lynch/Oz" was how much of an influence "Oz" apparently was on "Mulholland Drive," Lynch's poison letter to Hollywood. That film was also about an innocent (Naomi Watts) who arrives in a strange place (Hollywood) and meets a series of strange characters, although "Wild at Heart" is the Lynch film that most overtly references "Oz."

For those interested in David Lynch or critical thinking exercises about cinema, "Lynch/Oz" will be a delight. Much of Lynch's work has fascinated me and a few of his films hit home in a personal way that one wouldn't typically expect from surrealist thrillers. 

This film gives viewers a lot to chew on, provides a bevy of fantastically arranged movie clips, and features some great anecdotes (courtesy of Waters) and insight (especially Nicholson) that make this one a must-see for those who love the movies and, especially, the work of this unique and brilliant auteur.