Ep885: IndieSeen: INLAND EMPIRE (2006)

Published: May 17, 2023, 10:38 a.m.

In March 2022, Ian and Sujewa planned to talk about David Lynch's 2006 shot-on-video film, Inland Empire--but it wasn't available anywhere (within reason) to buy, rent, or stream.

Fortunately, Criterion recently released a remastered version of the film on The Criterion Channel, and as a Blu-ray. In this episode, the guys look at the unscripted 3-hour drama, which centers on an actress (Laura Dern) whose grasp of reality is jeopardized when she signs on to the remake of a legendarily cursed film.

This may be Lynch at his Lynch-iest.

Hailed by some, and derided by others, Inland Empire plays like a Rorschach Test of audience patience. It's either a daring expression of creative genius--or a high falutin star-studded indulgence that could have been told in 30 minutes.

Note: We also discuss Sujewa's latest film, Cosmic Disco Detective Rene, which was supposed to debut at the Lammle Glendale in Los Angeles this weekend. Due to technical issues, however, the premiere is being rescheduled. You can find updates on the new date at nycfantastic.com and on Twitter at @CosmicReneMovie.

Timestamps:

  • Intro: 0:00 - 0:48

  • What's New with Sujewa? 0:49 - 9:45

  • Inland Empire Review: 9:46 - 54:14

  • Outro: 54:15 - 1:01:15

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