Week 11: Dreams, Memory and Chaos

(IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR THE TUESDAY NIGHT CLASS--we will be back in the regularly scheduled class next week as the college needs the auditorium for another event.)

Week 11: Dreams, Memory and Chaos



In Class Film: Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001: 145 mins)



Required Readings:

Eig, Jonathan. “A Beautiful Mind(Fuck): Hollywood Structures of Identity.” Jump Cut 46 (Summer 2003)

Gaggi, Silvio. “Navigating Chaos.” New Punk Cinema. Ed. Nicholas Rombes. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005: 113-125.

Isaacs, Bruce. "Non-Linear Narrative." New Punk Cinema Ed. Nicholas Rombes. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005: 126-138.

Plate, S. Brent. “Filmmaking, Mythmaking, Culturemaking.” Representing Religion in World Cinema. Ed. S. Brent Plate. NY: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003: 1-15.

Optional Readings (to help you think about the film):

Cain, Maximillian Le. “In Dreams: A Review of Mulholland Drive.” Senses of Cinema 19 (March-April 2002)

Ebert, Roger. “Review of Mulholland Drive.” Chicago Sun Times (October 12, 2001)

Falsetto, Mario. “There is No Band at Club Silencio: Thoughts on David Lynch and Mulholland Drive.” Synoptique 6 (Dec 6, 2004)

Frazer, Bryant. “Fast Friends: Mulholland Drive.” (2001)

Gessler, Nicholas. “Mulholland Drive: An Independent Analysis.” (September 29, 2002)

Koresky, Michael. “Altered Beast: Tropical Malady Meets Mulholland Drive.” Reverse Shot (Summer 2005)

Macaulay, Scott. “The Dream Factory.” Filmmaker Magazine (Fall 2001)

McGinn, Colin. "Dreams on Film."; "Reviewing the Dream Theory."; "How To Make a Dream." The Power of Movies: How Screen and Mind Interact NY: Pantheon Books, 2005": 100-157; 158-177; and 178-191. {For those that want to investigate more the theory of film and dreams.--the book is in our library.}

Ostherr, Kirsten and Arash Abizadeh. “Amnesia, Obsession, Cinematic U-Turns: On Mulholland Drive.” Senses of Cinema 19 (March-April 2002)

Rapfogel, Jared. “David Lynch.” Senses of Cinema 19 (March-April 2002)

Ruch, Allen B. “’No Hay Banda’: A Long, Strange Trip Down David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.” The Modern Word (April 23, 2002)

Sinnerbrink, Robert. “Cinematic Ideas: David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.” Film Philosophy 9.34 (July 2005)

Thill, Scott. “The Not-So-Straight Story: It’s Just Lynch Being Lynch. And That’s a Good Thing.” Bright Lights Film Journal 34 (October 2001)

Wyman, Bill, Max Garrone and Andy Klein. “Everything You Wanted to Know About Mulholland Drive.” Salon (October 23, 2001)

Zacharek, Stephanie. “David Lynch’s Latest Tour de Force.” Salon (October 12, 2001)


Required to watch one of these films outside of class:

American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999: 122 mins)
The dark side of the American suburbs and the families that reside there. Great cinematography and production design and a star turn by Kevin Spacey. A straightforward narrative that gains its power from its atmosphere and imagery.

Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 1999: 112 mins)
A completely unique story announced Spike Jonze (director) and Charlie Kaufman (screenwriter) as bold filmmakers. It is great to walk away from a film that you enjoyed and were provoked by and to think, I have never seen anything like this.... A great film.

The Big Lebowski (The Coen Brothers, 1998: 117 mins)
"The dude abides." A classic by the Coen bros, that while not as mystifying as some of these films, still explores along the same lines who and what we are... has developed a cult following that has led to an annual conference/party in Louisville bowling alleys.

Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982/1991: 117 mins)
Landmark, visionary science fiction film that at its essence is about what it means to be human. Hugely influential in the field of science fiction and has roots in the tradition of film noir. I would also consider it to be a profound (drawing from the root questions of its source author Philip K. Dick) meditation on consciousness--and while the consciousness in question may be androids, it reminds me of our hubris in believing that only humans are self-reflectively conscious (a preposterous and arrogant assumption).

Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1995: 121 mins)
Johnny Depp plays the lead character in this acid-western dipped in the American (and European) Myth of the West filtered (or juxtaposed) through Native-American counter mythos.

Donnie Darko (Richard Kelley, 2001: director’s cut 133 mins)
Ignored when released in the theaters this film picked-up an audience through rentals and was later re-released with a new director's cut. Jake Gyllenhal and a stellar cast (one of my favorite on-screen families) plumb some philosophical/scientific concepts, while exposing some social hypocrisies.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004: 108 mins)
As always Charlie Kaufman writes about memory and identity. Great production design, the stunning Kate Winslet accompanying Jim Carrey in a tale of lost love and memories--what would you do to forget the pain of a lost love.

Human Nature (Michel Gondry, 2001: 91 mins)
Rowdy/Bawdy comedy that delves into and around some deep human/identity issues.

I Heart Huckabees (David O. Russell, 2004: 106 mins)
One of my all-time favorite philosophical comedies with a great cast and intelligent writing. One of the few films that I went and watched a second time while it was in the theaters.

Jacob’s Ladder (Adrian Lyne, 1990: 115 mins)
After-effects of war on the returned soldier--what is reality, what isn't?

Kontrol (Nimrod Antal, Hungary 2003: 105 mins)
Filmed entirely in the Budapest underground railway system. What could have been a simple film slowly builds through absurd events and surreal atmosphere into something more--alternating between comedy, mystery and romance... but never falling into simplicity.

Lost Highway (David Lynch, 1997: 135 mins)
You thought Mulholland Drive was confusing ;)

Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000: 113 mins)
A man searching for his wife's murderer deals with daily memory loss--a bold, vivid film.

Pi (Darren Aronofsky, 1998: 84 mins)
An amazing blend of science, philosophy, math, religion and conspiracy theories--set to a unique visual style. Aronofsky's (Requiem for a Dream) first feature film. A startling, mind-blowing original look into the mystifying patterns of life (as viewed by the skewed person who is recognizing them)--should be studied by all beginning filmmakers to give them an idea of how an excellent screenplay and unique visual style can overcome a low budget. Minimalistic, yet complex. On my DVD copy there is a featurette on the making of the film--check it out if you watch it, great picture of collective filmmaking and the indepsndent spirit (of course always much more uplifting when it turns out a film like this).

Pulse (Kiyoshi Kurasowa: Japan 2001: 118 mins)
What effect does our increasing relationship to technology and media have on us? A dark, forboding, haunting, mysterious film.

Run, Lola, Run (Tom Tykwer, Germany 1998: 81 mins)
How do the smallest choices change the direction of our lives? Chaos theory inflected thriller.

Save the Green Planet (Joon-Hwan Jang, Korea 2003: 118 mins)
Like Being John Malkovich and Pi, unlike any film I have seen before--I can't give anything away and would like to hear what others have to say about it.

Time Code (Mike Figgis, 2000: 97 mins)
I haven't seen it, but it is mentioned in your reading and is unique in its split-screen narrative (four at a time).

The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995: 106 mins)
Nothing like a good mystery with a surprise ending--a favorite of many. A must for detective/mystery/crime buffs.