Mullholland Drive uses the narrative technique of a cyclical narrative, a non-linear narrative, and it works on 3 different layers, a dream like layer, a subconscious layer, and a reality, creating a confusing narrative, which all helped it attain its ‘cult’ status, as people can re-watch and discuss over it’s plot for a long time.

The film also makes use of plot twists, in it’s characters and Narratives, especially with Diane/Betty and Rita/Camilla, the power status’ between the two characters are constantly being flipped near the end, and neither are who we originally believe them to be.

Industrial context:

Lynch struggled to get funding for his projects in Hollywood due to his bizarre auteur and style. Mullholland drive was originally meant to be a pilot for a TV show, however was scrapped in a matter of weeks, which meant Lynch could pick up the project. The director character and his struggles is a parallel to Lynch’s journey in the industry.

Social/cultural context:

This film was part of the post-modern film movement in 1990-2000s, and contains intertextual references, one being sunset Boulevard (1950) which became inspiration for the plot. Though predating movements against misogyny in Hollywood, Mullholland Drive still criticises this in it’s hyper-realistic depiction of Hollywood and parts of the industry.

I’d give this film a 9/10.

I enjoyed the freedom it had to express itself in weird an interesting ways. The last quarter had me questioning many more things than it answered, but at the same time I felt like I could make slight links between different narrative strands and characters. The cyclical narrative especially really emphasised the different perspective needed to begin to comprehend the film.

memorable moment for me was the assignation of the screenwriter, then the assistant, then the janitor, and I think it added a comedic relief, and the juxtaposition of murder and comedy helped me to understand the unnatural feel of this scene, and the film as a whole.

Everything everywhere all at once (2022, Kwan and Scheinert)

I’d give this a 7/10

I enjoyed the creativity and multitude of absurd scenes that linked together through this one woman. However I feel like it was trying to tell a story which made me want to understand what was happening, e.g the passing of time, and this left me more confused, and slightly frustrated at times, however as a whole it was enjoyable.

A scene that stood out for me was the man pulling the men + piano + cows. Despite the disturbing imagery, it was quite humorous to see just how much this one man was pulling.

‘Philosophers lamp’ (1936) – Rene Magritte

‘Object’ (1936) – Meret Oppenheim

A lot of this kept me on my toes, not knowing what to expect. One minute there’s a skateboard on some burgers, the next, SpongeBob is being tackled by the police. I found this very amusing, and intrigued on what to expect next, and it was quite humorous.

I would rate it 9/10.

A Memorable scene for me was the axe being thrown at the man from thin air, as the man portrays horror, however in this context of complete randomness became quite amusing. This contrast in emotions adds to the confusion and hilarity of the entire piece.