"Diane, 11:30 AM, February 24th. Entering the town of Twin Peaks" - says the famous introduction of Agent Dale Cooper as he first arrives at the location of many mysteries and a bunch of beautiful trees - Douglas firs as we learn later.
February 24th counts for this reason as the international Twin Peaks Day. A nice occasion to think about all the questions this absurd, surreal, dark, yet in some way wholesome and cosy story raises, and of course first of all to remember the great artist David Lynch who has sadly left our world this January, leaving us with the hope that now he is in a better place accompanied by a "damn fine cup of coffee".
The world has lost a visionary
January 2025 was a sad month for those immersed in surrealist art or simply lovers of film. The unique-style artist, often called one of the greatest filmmakers of all time would've been 79 years old on the 20th of January however the sad news of his passing shook the media just five days before his birthday. It was already known that he'd been suffering from emphysema which he was diagnosed with in 2020 due to his smoking habits. This illness made him homebound and in January 2025 he had to be evacuated from his home because of the spreading Southern California wildfires. He died from complications of emphysema.
We have lost an irreplaceable artist, a great mind and a kind man, and social media platforms such as Instagram and especially its relatively new sub-site Threads were almost immediately filled with tributes and all sorts of posts dedicated to him and the global recognition his art and person deserved.
‘Dying from smoking too much when California is in flames, is a very Lynchian death’
- someone wrote something like this on Threads and although it might seem like a bizarre thing to joke about, I have a sneaky feeling David Lynch himself would have loved this thought.
A subjective guide through his films
If you are not yet familiar with the Lynch-films but have the curiosity to immerse into all the dreams and nightmares he has created, you can trust me and follow my guide through some of his most famous films – it is generally valid that not understanding anything shouldn’t scare you, you won’t be the only one left with this feeling, but with an open mindset you might have a great time:
Mulholland Drive (2001) – A great choice if you are into some psychological chain-of-thoughts mixed with creepy elements and a large amount of mystery. Also, if you like La La Land (2016), well, this is like its evil cousin. My personal favourite, hard to deny. You have the chance to understand its concept almost completely clearly by the second watch.
Blue Velvet (1986) – Slightly romantic Lynchian coming-of-age story discovering the terrors lying beneath the surface of what they call the ‘American dream’. Funny at parts, horrifying at others. A good one to start your Lynch-journey.
Lost Highway (1997) – If you like a horror film that will leave you curling up under your blanket traumatised never wanting to leave your room again. No, I’m just kidding, it is actually a very complex, deep narrative diving into the psyche of the main character, adding the usual surrealism, however it should be a trigger warning, that it can be truly terrifying.
Wild at Heart (1990) – A road-movie about youth and passion, surprisingly entertaining and very light compared to other Lynch films, almost like a black lemonade; yet dark and creepy in places, while retaining a fairy-tale tone. Highly recommended if you are a fan of The Wizard of Oz.
Eraserhead (1977) – David Lynch’s first feature-length film about fatherhood and being afraid of responsibilities. Be prepared, it’s a weird one. (I love it, and you might too though.)
Dune (1984) – If you’re a huge fan of Denis Villeneuve’s new version of Dune, I’m not sure, if this would be your film. On the other hand, if you’re into a campy space drama like the original Star Wars films or let’s say The Fifth Element, you have the chance to appreciate this one too.
And of course, although, it is not a film, but a two-season series (1990-91) followed by a feature-length prequel (Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me, 1992) and a one-season sequel (The Return, 2017), we cannot leave
Twin Peaks
out of this collection, especially celebrating international Twin Peaks Day. It is a real special piece, an artistic vision, a dream-like composition. Exceptionally atmospheric, beautiful visuals set in a classic North American environment with a bunch of crazy yet somehow lovable characters. It is exciting, intriguing, thought-provoking. You might be wondering about so many questions it raises and not only the main one: who killed Laura Palmer. It is funny and grotesque, with a great emphasis on the unknown, the supernatural. I can only recommend it, and I can assure you that you won't experience anything like you would watching any other TV series. Also, it is a perfect choice for a chilly weekend with a cup of coffee in your hands. But let’s return to this piece of art later.
Staying true to the ideas
I once read somewhere, perhaps in a comments section under a David Lynch-themed post, that he was
"The Salvador Dalí of cinema".
I found this idea intriguing because indeed one of the most remarkable characteristics of Lynch's art is the way he blends narrative with surrealist elements, as if reality and dream are constantly blurring together.
He was famous for his surrealism and his unique approach to art, refusing to provide answers or explanations. "Believe it or not - he says in an interview - Eraserhead is my most spiritual film." "Elaborate on that", the interviewer replies instantly but Lynch just smiles, shakes his head and says it in the humblest way: "No, I won't."
In his films, we see something similar to this little dialogue, as he reveals lines of obscure fragments on the big screen, while we, the viewers, are constantly trying to keep up and put these pieces together to understand what he is attempting to say, but when we start to think we understand, he mixes in more surrealism to confuse us again. In an interview he mentions that
his mother refused to give him colouring books when he was a child. He was free to draw, to visualise without lines, and this became an important feature of his later art.
It may seem unusual as a viewer, but in a Hollywood-dominated film industry, in a world of false perfectionism and idealised plastic realities, where the audience's only role is consumption and 'art' must therefore be as consumable as possible,
to create art that makes people think about their own interpretations, rather than giving them definitive, 'ready-to-eat answers, is a wonderfully rebellious act.
"I don't know why people expect art to make sense - he said once - they accept the fact that life doesn't make sense”. It is, however, important to clarify that his films are not meaningless at all. They are hard to understand fully, especially at a first watch but once the viewer catches an interpretation they can believe in, the whole picture starts to become clearer and as the little pieces come together eventually everyone can find their own meaning in it - and I think this is what makes art truly beautiful.
"Ideas come to us. We don't really create an idea; we just catch them like fish. No chef ever takes credit for making the fish. It's just preparing the fish."
he said in another interview. He spoke a lot about ideas and praised them: he thought catching an idea brightens up the whole day. Once he explained how he got his ideas for his classic television series Twin Peaks: it was just fragments of the whole picture, step by step, one little piece at a time. He said he felt that all the pieces were already there in the back of his mind - in another room, as he explained - and whenever a piece found him, he fell in love with it and it, as a bait, already attracted more little pieces to follow. He was passionate about ideas; it was what kept him creating and he stayed true to them.
"This beautiful language called cinema"
His dedication to the world of film wasn't an instant move from his side. He had probably always been an artistic mind, but his original approach was in the direction of fine arts. He studied painting and created various artworks himself before turning his vision to the screen.
If one is familiar with his films, it can be fascinating to notice his vision: the visuals, the colours, the contrasts, the angles. The recurring combination of red and blue, the close-ups showing the nuanced emotions of his characters, often brilliantly portrayed.
His films often show the contrasts of our world not only using visuals but regarding their narratives too. The stories are built around the strangest figures, sometimes scary, sometimes just lost needing help, but either way somehow always at least a bit lovable. Their journeys as we follow them through its stations are mostly grotesque and dreamlike, including surreal visions, mysterious characters giving goosebumps to the viewer,
fantasies about how things should be according to the main character and the inevitable disappointment of how things really are. They are thrilling and puzzling and yet always telling us something important about life, these dark tales.
Those Lynchian contrasts
If his art is full of opposites put together it is maybe even more important how his person could be seen this way as well.
Despite creating many iconic horror films that depict the dark side of humanity, David Lynch must have been a surprisingly warm and positive presence.
"You don't have to suffer to show suffering"
he shared in an interview, elaborating his perspective on negativity being the enemy of creativity. This mindset is one of the things that made him particularly unique, while also offering a new perspective to the stereotypical idea of depressed artists.
Transcendental Meditation
Besides his love for art, one of his greatest beliefs was Transcendental Meditation, often referred to as TM. It's a short-term meditation method that focuses on the
mental passage between wakefulness and sleep
allowing participants to reach a deeper level of consciousness and refresh their minds for the day. First taught by the Indian yogi Maharisi Mahes, David Lynch believed in this technique so much that he established the David Lynch Foundation with the aim of teaching TM to people around the world.
After his death, Lynch's family organised an online event to try TM together in memory of David Lynch. The meditation session took place through a Zoom meeting and had over 3000 participants from all over the world.
"Entering the town of Twin Peaks"
Speaking about blending creepy and cosy, the 1990s world-wide acknowledged TV series Twin Peaks can be a quite good example for that.
Following the murder mystery of Laura Palmer offers a story that is difficult to categorise into one genre: a crime thriller but also a comedy, mysterious, bizarre, surreal, yet somehow intimate and comforting. Lynch once said that it could be interpreted as a soap opera. It's full of characters who are not only flawed, but in many cases bordering on the unreasonable, yet they make us, the viewers, so curious that sooner or later we feel we belong to this small community, the gloomy town of Twin Peaks.
FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) is assigned to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer and enter the mysterious life of her small-town community, and he fulfils his duties with a strong charisma, yet a personality that is hard not to fall in love with immediately. He believes in intuition to the highest degree; he listens to his dreams as he puts the pieces of the murder mystery puzzle together. He finds trees beautiful and likes to treat himself to a lovely cherry pie. He is part of a dark and terrifying world, yet somehow, he manages to see the small beauties in life. He's always happy to have a 'damn fine cup of coffee’ and is perhaps
a character like David Lynch might have been.
Happy international Twin Peaks Day to all and remember to keep your eyes on the donut and not on the hole.
Photo: Chris Weeks, WIREIMAGE, 2002
