Bret Easton Ellis tweeted thusly:
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The two key American films of the 1990′s: Pulp Fiction, Bottle Rocket…
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This got me thinking. I’m not sure what he means by “key”, but I’m thinking it’s somewhere along the lines of: that of which the existence of is necessary to move the form of film forward to make possible the better films of the present.
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So this idea got me thinking some more. About what? Well, for one thing, about how if “Pulp Fiction” is a “key” film, the movies of the ’90′s really sucked. This is probably the case; for example, I remember that I saw pretty much every movie of 1993, and I felt that the best one was Clint Eastwood’s In The Line Of Fire. Now, that’s not a bad movie, but it’s a sign of those times that that was the best that Hollywood could do in a year. (Oh, and Pulp Fiction? To my eye at the time, a stream of silly, borderline boring vignettes.)
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And for another thing, thinking about: What was a key movie? Of any time?
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Well, it’s easy to say something like 2001: A Space Odyssey. Fresh, had ideas, (as well as the best villain in all of filmdom) and propelled movie-making forward technically and creatively.
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Is that enough?
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Yes, I guess it’s enough to qualify as a key film. But then I thunk some more, and I thunk of Mulholland Drive. And it’s sort-of-sequel, Inland Empire. There is something in these films that makes them more than films. A dimension of sorts has been added. They are not perfect movies. Still, there is something. David Lynch started out as an artist, and yes, you can see that influence in his movies. But these two flicks are not just art films either. And they are not just art. So here’s where I’m supposed to explain this new form that Lynch has created and prove to you exactly how and why it is distinct from previous films or art. But I can’t. I can’t explain it at all.
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All I can tell you, is that Lynch has found some unknown truth(s). He has found it in mythology. He has found it in the bible. He has found it in art and he’s found it in film and he’s found it I-don’t know-where-all, and he has weaved it through his work. And has created, I would posit, something new entirely.
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Cover of Mulholland Drive
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Hollywood did do better than Line of Fire in ’93: Schindler’s List, Searching for Bobby Fischer or Rudy to name three. I think I might even go with A Bronx Tale before Line. Plenty of good flicks that year, but I do agree that Pulp Fiction is way overrated. Reservoir Dogs was MUCH better.
Finally, not sure if Mulholland Drive is a “key” film or not. I liked it, but only for the obvious reasons.
I just sent this post to a bunch of my friends as I agree with most of what you’re saying here and the way you’ve presented it is awesome.