A movie to be re-watched

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2016)

This is a mesmerizing movie, and a narrative masterpiece. But also, let's face it, it is a failed TV-pilot. This duality is central to Mulholland Drive, and it is present throughout the movie. It is hard to tell where the genius begins and the failure ends, which is probably what makes it so fascinating. Why does a certain subplot seem so lame? Why is a certain character behaving in such a clichÃ© way? Are they symbolizing a super-stylized version of reality constructed by a failed actress' subconscious or are we just watching the takes of a failed, bad TV project? Of course, then came the interpretations. And some of them make a lot of sense. I think the whole "It is all Diane's dream" does make sense to a certain extent, yet at the same time it is, at least, very fascinating that the most surreal, irrational scenes (the last half an hour) are the ones which are supposed to be taking place in the "real" word.
Though, at the end of the day, the take-home message of this film is, what is the real world? Mulholland Drive tackles the issue that has pervaded art since antiquity, of how to mimic the real world so to convince the audience, how to play God with a bunch of props and actors. The words spoken at the Club Silencio resonate in the viewer after the closing credits: there is no orchestra, it's just a recording. Our senses think they are in front of something real, but it is no more than an artifact.
This is indeed, a classic of our time. And as such, it is a must-watch. But don't expect to understand it at the first time. Because, in the end, there's not much to be understood. As a public, we demand rationality, clarity and coherent plot lines from film-makers; and Lynch's answer to that demand is a surrealistic reminder that movies, just like real life, are not always what we want them to be.