Inland Empire (film)

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Inland Empire
Produced by David Lynch
Mary Sweeney
Jeremy Alter
Laura Dern
Marek Zydowicz
Written by David Lynch
Starring Laura Dern
Jeremy Irons
Justin Theroux
Harry Dean Stanton
Scott Coffey
Music by David Lynch,Angelo Badalamenti
Distributed by StudioCanal
518 Media
ABSURDA
Release date(s) December, 2006 (Premiere in General)
September 6, 2006 (first performance in Venice Film Festival)
Summer 2007 (DVD Version by Rhino Entertainment)
Running time 179 min / 197 min (uncut version)
Language English / Polish
Budget unknown
IMDb profile

Inland Empire (the official title may be written INLAND EMPIRE in all capital letters [1]) is a film directed by David Lynch, which was premiered in Italy at the Venice Film Festival on September 6, 2006. [1] The film took two and a half years to complete, and was shot entirely in digital video. [2] The cast includes Lynch regulars such as Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton, and Grace Zabriskie, as well as Jeremy Irons and Diane Ladd.


Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When asked about Inland Empire, Lynch responded that it is "about a woman in trouble, and it's a mystery, and that's all I want to say about it." [3]

Most of the film's details have been kept under wraps. It is set in the Riverside/San Bernardino, California area just east of Los Angeles, which is also known as the Inland Empire.

According to Richard Peña, an official at the New York Film Festival and one of the first people to see Inland Empire, the film is "a plotless collection of snippets that explore themes Lynch has been working on for years," including "a Hollywood story about a young actress who gets a part in a film that might be cursed; a story about the smuggling of women from Eastern Europe; and an abstract story about a family of people with rabbit heads sitting around in a living room," [3] which appears to be taken straight from Lynch's web-only film series, Rabbits (either as a carbon copy or as a continuation of the series -- an approach similar to Richard Linklater's scene of characters Jesse and Celine, from his film Before Sunrise, in his film Waking Life).

The film supposedly includes several hallucinatory scenes, and Naomi Watts' character in the film is as one of the aforementioned "talking rabbits", in a cameo role. [2] It is unclear if Watts' character corresponds to the one in Rabbits, in which she also appeared.

[edit] Filming and details

In a 2005 interview, Lynch spoke about the filming process of Inland Empire, saying that, "I’ve never worked on a project in this way before. I don’t know exactly how this thing will finally unfold... This film is very different because I don’t have a script. I write the thing scene by scene and much of it is shot and I don’t have much of a clue where it will end. It’s a risk, but I have this feeling that because all things are unified, this idea over here in that room will somehow relate to that idea over there in the pink room." [4]

Much of the film was shot in Łódź, Poland, with local actors, such as Karolina Gruszka, Krzysztof Majchrzak, Leon Niemczyk and Piotr Andrzejewski. Some filming was also done in Los Angeles, and in 2006 Lynch returned from Poland to complete filming. It is unknown how much of the film was actually even shot in the Inland Empire cities, as Lynch never obtained the necessary filming permits which are required for both indoor and outdoor filming in the area. [3]

Lynch would hand each actor several pages of just-written dialogue each morning as they arrived on the set each day. [2]

The film differs from any other Lynch film in that it is the first to be completely shot in digital video. The film was shot with a Sony PD 150. He has stated that he will no longer use film to make motion pictures. [1]

Inland Empire also continues Lynch's tradition of naming the project after the location where it is set, with the location actually having little to nothing to do with the film itself. [3]

[edit] Reviews and reactions

During an interview at the Venice Film Festival, Laura Dern admitted that she still then didn't know what Inland Empire was about or who she was even playing, but hoped that seeing the film's premiere at the festival would help her "learn more." [2] Critics have been divided on the merits of the film itself, but Laura Dern has received almost-universal acclaim for her performance, with many reviews describing it as her finest to date.

Justin Theroux also stated in an interview that he "couldn't possibly tell you what the film's about, and at this point I don't know that David Lynch could. It's become sort of a pastime - Laura [Dern] and I sit around on set trying to figure out what's going on." [3]

The New York Times classified Inland Empire as being "fitfully brilliant" after the film festival.

[edit] Financing and release

Lynch financed much of the production from his own resources, with longtime artistic collaborator Mary Sweeney producing. The film was also partially financed by the French production company Canal Plus, which had provided funding three previous Lynch films. StudioCanal wanted to enter it in the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, but it was not ready in time. In Poland, the film will probably come out in the autumn, [citation needed] and Kino Świat will be the distributor. [citation needed]

There will be a limited release in America on December 15 via 518 Media. [2]

The film was first premiered at Italy's Venice Film Festival on September 6, 2006, where David Lynch also received the Golden Lion lifetime achievement for his "contributions to the art of cinema." It premiered in The United States on October 8, 2006 at the New York Film Festival, selling out both showings.

Lynch will be self-distributing the film in America and Canada[3], and he expects to release it in the United States in December of 2006.

Lynch spoke of distributing the film independently, saying that with the entire industry changing, he thought he would attempt a new form of distribution as well. More recently, Lynch has worked out a deal with Studio Canal in an arrangement that will allow him to distribute the film himself, through digital and traditional means. [4]

[edit] Release Dates Information

Festival Releases :

September 6, 2006 (Venice Film Festival) (Italy)

October 8, 2006 (New York Film Festival) (USA)

November 23, 2006 (Thessaloniki Film Festival) (Greece)

November 25, 2006 (Camerimage Film Festival) (Poland)

February 1, 2007 (Fajr International Film Festival) (Iran)

Theatrical Releases :

December 7, 2006 (Slovakia)

December 8, 2006 (USA) (Boston limited release)

December 6, 2006 (USA) (New York limited release)

December 15, 2006 (USA) (Los Angeles limited release)

December 29, 2006 (Finland)

January 11, 2007 (Germany)

January 25, 2007 (Iran) (Tehran limited release : Farhang Theatre)

February 7, 2007 (France)

February 7, 2007 (UK) (London limited release : Odeon Camden Town Theatre)

February 7, 2007 (Belgium)

February 15, 2007 (Iran)

April 5, 2007 (Netherlands)

April 7, 2007 (Japan)

April 12, 2007 (UK)

April 26, 2007 (Australia)

July 5, 2007 (Russia)

July 12, 2007 (Czech Republic)

DVD Releases :

June 8, 2007 (USA) (INLAND EMPIRE DVD Distributed by Rhino Entertainment)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Variety.com article on Inland Empire
  2. ^ a b c d BBC News: David Lynch given lifetime award
  3. ^ a b c d e WFAA.com article: "David Lynch turns his eye to Inland Empire"
  4. ^ Healthy Weathly N' Wise article on David Lynch

[edit] External links

An essay on Inland Empire, and David Lynch by Dennis Lim [5] at the New York Times.


David Lynch
Feature films
Eraserhead • The Elephant Man • Dune • Blue Velvet • Wild at Heart • Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me • Lost Highway • The Straight Story • Mulholland Dr. • Inland Empire
TV series
Twin Peaks • On the Air • Hotel Room
Other work
Short films • Industrial Symphony No. 1 • Rabbits • Dumb Land • The Angriest Dog in the World
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