End credits sequence

Discussion of INLAND EMPIRE

Moderators: Brad D, Annie, Jonah, BookhouseBoyBob, Ross, Jerry Horne

Post Reply
User avatar
LostInTheMovies
Bookhouse Member
Posts: 1558
Joined: Tue May 20, 2014 12:48 pm

End credits sequence

Post by LostInTheMovies »

I always felt the end credits sequence of Inland Empire was just a fun non sequitur coda. But someone recently commented that Laura Elena Harring is resuming her role as Camilla /Rita on this scene. Speculatory obviously, but it got me thinking. What do all the people we see have in common? Camilla /Rita, the girl from Pomona with her monkey, a woodsman who could be the Log Lady's husband: could they all be characters who have died? Not sure where Natassja Kinski fits into this theory haha.
Last edited by LostInTheMovies on Sat May 21, 2016 9:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Mb3
RR Diner Member
Posts: 263
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:05 am
Location: Germany

Re: End credits sequence

Post by Mb3 »

As you already said, it probably is just Lynchs way to end this movie by assembling some people he likes (Laura Elena Harring) or whose work he admires (Nastassja Kinski). Nonetheless I've always liked to watch the whole dance sequence. I remember when I watched it in our local cinema a couple years ago most of the people left the cinema and the cleaning staff rushed in but they had to wait as the end sequence kept going on for a while.
Sorry that I couldn't offer any new input to your request.
User avatar
Dining With Diane
Roadhouse Member
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2016 3:49 pm
Contact:

Re: End credits sequence

Post by Dining With Diane »

I always suspected that the location of the dance number at the end was the Suave Man's place from Blue Velvet.
http://diningwithdiane.tumblr.com/
Dining with Diane - the food blog of Special Agent Dale Cooper
Snailhead
Great Northern Member
Posts: 547
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2016 2:45 pm

Re: End credits sequence

Post by Snailhead »

I definitely interpret the sequence as a celebratory gathering of spirits in the afterlife.
Sue's spirit has escaped purgatory and reached a sort of heaven / white lodge equivalent - "the palace" that Visitor #1 spoke of.

( I subscribe to the 'Half-born' theory: http://xixax.com/halfborn/ I have read many theories about the film over the years and this was the first that has truly worked for me. Bravo and thank you to whoever made the website!)

I don't think it's a stretch to think that Camilla's spirit may have reached the end of her own journey through purgatory. It's really neat the way that the girl from Pomona is described as a woman who wears a blonde wig who makes men & women fall in love with her. That dialogue has always made me think of Camilla/Rita in MD, who is bisexual and wears a blonde wig at one point.)

Interestingly enough, there are some Twin Peaks parallels beyond the lumberjack, specifically with the Season 2 finale. The woman singing the Nina Simone track while the lights strobe is reminiscent of the performance of "Sycamore Trees", albeit far more celebratory.

Additionally, there's a link to the ending of FWWM, in which Laura has reached her own afterlife. (I'm so excited to see how that might be expanded upon in the revival.)
User avatar
TheAlien
RR Diner Member
Posts: 124
Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2017 4:01 pm
Location: Mind

Re: End credits sequence

Post by TheAlien »

BUMP


Please tell me this will all come together tomorrow :mrgreen:
For I am I: ergo, the truth of myself; my own sphinx, conflict, chaos, vortex—asymmetric to all rhythms, oblique to all paths. I am the prism between black and white: mine own unison in duality.
― Austin Osman Spare
LateReg
Bookhouse Member
Posts: 1435
Joined: Sun May 10, 2015 5:19 pm

Re: End credits sequence

Post by LateReg »

I believe the end credits are more than a throwaway, no matter how you look at it, even if you just see it as a celebration of spirit.

But...that room, I believe, is the same room that we first see Laura Dern emerge from the first time we see her. It's subtle, but I believe she walks out of that room to talk with Grace Zabriskie. Therefore, I've always viewed the credits sequence, populated with all manner of Lynchian motifs, as taking place in the creative center of her mind, from which, perhaps, most of this tale (and all fiction and creative impulses including acting) has emerged. The INLAND EMPIRE itself.
Post Reply