Esoteric interpretation of Lost HIghway
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 5:19 am
I'm a huge Lynch fan and Lost Highway is perhaps his most powerful film. I thought I'd share a few ideas and see where they land.
For me the film seems to be in part about man realising his condition ie. the fall of man/Adam. It seems to be the filmmakers interpretation of this age old mystery. But if this is so then it's based on an alternative one that is opposed to the dominant theological one. The basic idea is that Adam/Eve's true 'sin' was not their eating of the fruit but their enactment of free will. Like Lucifer, born with the gift of freewill, they too could only truly be free through a willful act of independence. The knowledge of good and evil or knowledge of everything is seen as the ability to make value judgements, itself only possible if one is awakened to the self or the 'I'. In perfect union with god their would be no 'I', no self. In this way Lucifer is viewed as a liberator and one who illuminates the self. But this comes at the price of being seperated from god and consequently are unable to remain in that perfect union.
Man's fall ends where Lucifer's does, in hell, being completely seperated from god.
Every Lynch film from Eraserhead onwards seems to carry the idea of hell being the reality of man's existence. If we apply this interpretaion to Lost Highway it opens a lot of doors previously unseen.
I'll just briefly list a few of these:
God: Dick Laurent/Mr. Eddy
Lucifer: Mystery Man, gun (Desert Eagle), also viewed as Lord of the Underworld
Adam: Fred -then reborn as -Pete then reborn as Fed... (repeat)
Fred also exibits characteristics of Lucifer- lord of music, pride etc.
Eve: Renee/Alice (who is also revealed to be Mystery Man/Lucifer)
Jesus Christ: Andy
Cabin in desert: Lucifer's abode, burning bush comes to mind, also 'smoke by day fire by night' from Exodus.
The car bestows upon its driver the powers of it's original owner. So Andy's (Jesus) red Mustang can take you to the desert (underworld) and back.
Dick Laurent's (God) Merc the power of godhood. Fred is able to reach godhood once he has the car. Dick Laurent is effectively ruler of that world in which Pete exists.
This opens up a hell of a lot of questions I know but they lead to some compelling insights that I'd be glad to discuss.
For me the film seems to be in part about man realising his condition ie. the fall of man/Adam. It seems to be the filmmakers interpretation of this age old mystery. But if this is so then it's based on an alternative one that is opposed to the dominant theological one. The basic idea is that Adam/Eve's true 'sin' was not their eating of the fruit but their enactment of free will. Like Lucifer, born with the gift of freewill, they too could only truly be free through a willful act of independence. The knowledge of good and evil or knowledge of everything is seen as the ability to make value judgements, itself only possible if one is awakened to the self or the 'I'. In perfect union with god their would be no 'I', no self. In this way Lucifer is viewed as a liberator and one who illuminates the self. But this comes at the price of being seperated from god and consequently are unable to remain in that perfect union.
Man's fall ends where Lucifer's does, in hell, being completely seperated from god.
Every Lynch film from Eraserhead onwards seems to carry the idea of hell being the reality of man's existence. If we apply this interpretaion to Lost Highway it opens a lot of doors previously unseen.
I'll just briefly list a few of these:
God: Dick Laurent/Mr. Eddy
Lucifer: Mystery Man, gun (Desert Eagle), also viewed as Lord of the Underworld
Adam: Fred -then reborn as -Pete then reborn as Fed... (repeat)
Fred also exibits characteristics of Lucifer- lord of music, pride etc.
Eve: Renee/Alice (who is also revealed to be Mystery Man/Lucifer)
Jesus Christ: Andy
Cabin in desert: Lucifer's abode, burning bush comes to mind, also 'smoke by day fire by night' from Exodus.
The car bestows upon its driver the powers of it's original owner. So Andy's (Jesus) red Mustang can take you to the desert (underworld) and back.
Dick Laurent's (God) Merc the power of godhood. Fred is able to reach godhood once he has the car. Dick Laurent is effectively ruler of that world in which Pete exists.
This opens up a hell of a lot of questions I know but they lead to some compelling insights that I'd be glad to discuss.