Lady Blue Shanghai

Dior was like "hey David, can you do like a little short thing to promote our handbag? you can do whatever you want as long as you show the bag" and David Lynch was like "Whatever I want you say?".

And he did.

It doesn't work as a commercial, but it's a fantastic David Lynch short. It has a blue rose in it, so maybe there's some Twin Peaks connections (or maybe I'm just obssesed with connecting all of his works).

Apparently, and maybe I'm thick-in-the-head, this David Lynch short film is a commercial for Lady Dior, which is basically a really fancy handbag. This isn't a surprise that Lynch would make a commercial - he has made several over the years, maybe as a means to get some of his ideas out there into the cinematic medium, and maybe, perhaps, to get some quick money. But this is a little different: this is a 16 minute film where it's really about a woman who goes to a hotel, a record is playing mysteriously in her room, and a handbag shines very brightly. She calls the hotel-help asking what is going on, and then tells a story of meeting a man before... or thinking she's met a man before, in Shanghai.

The power of this short film is that a) I didn't have any real clue that it was a long-form commercial while watching it, and b) it carries the kind of unique mystery that Lynch unlocks with his approach to cinema - the cinematography (in this case digital video, with a more sophisticated eye than the experimentation of Inland Empire), the editing that emphasizes the human face and the enigmatic movement of characters in the frame, sound editing that is not-of-this world. I still am not quite sure what it's all about, or if it's really what it is in that handbag (I'm more-so reminded of the elusive nature of the blue box from Mulholland Drive), and I almost don't want to know, at least not until two or three more viewings. It also is a big asset that Cotillard, stunning in appearance and her quiet intensity, works so well here for him as his female-muse.

Does it mean as much as his other short films? I'm still not sure about that either. Compared to some of the works on his Short Films of David Lynch or Best of DavidLynch.com DVDs, its not any kind of absurd thing he's dealing with here. It's like a splintered-in-his-mind romantic drama where love and loss and memory and not knowing converge into something one can look at and maybe recognize, or just feel. It's sublime work by a master of his self-made craft.

David Lynch's new short is only 16 minutes but it's really good. It is everything you would expect from him, it is dreamy, surreal, and visually hypnotic. I have yet to see Inland Empire but I was not that impressed with his output over the last decade. Mulholland Drive was pretty good, but I didn't like the online releases very much. I think Lady Blue Shanghai shows promise for the rest of Lynch's career. Hopefully he will release some more shorts like this and maybe even a movie or two. I hope he does soon, I really enjoy his works. He has so much potential as a director, it's disappointing that he has been in a moderately dormant stage for the past few years. I think that Lady Blue Shanghai is Lynch's best short ever, and he has some very good shorts, such as The Alphabet, Lumiere, and Absurda. All of those were good, but this is even better. It's probably the most dream-like piece I've ever seen him do, and that's really saying something. If you are a David Lynch fan I would recommend you watch this right now. If you like his style then you will probably enjoy this a lot. If you're fairly new to David Lynch but are interested, I still suggest you watch it. It's really good and I hope to see more like it.

That's what I did, actually. It enhanced the experience. David Lynch is no stranger to making commercials and although "Lady Blue Shanghai" was probably intended as one, it didn't feel like it. It felt more like one of his surreal films with product placement.

We meet a lady, played by Marion Cotillard, in a Shanghai hotel. She goes to her room to mysteriously find music playing on a stereo. She also finds a Dior handbag that seems to suddenly appear out of nowhere. If you've seen a few of Lynch's films, this already feels familiar, but I wouldn't call it hackneyed. The lady thinks someone is in her room, so she calls the front desk, and two men in black suits investigate the room. They find nobody; then, they talk to her, which leads into flashbacks of the woman in Shanghai. The film was dream-like before, but here's where the dreaminess really kicks in.

It almost goes without saying that Lynch knows how to make these types of films, short or feature length. "Lady Blue Shanghai" works. The actors are convincing without overdoing their performances. The cinematography is stunning and although the blurry slow motion camera shots are a bit distracting, they blend right in with the mood and story. The neon lights during the running scene particularly stand out. And what's a surreal film without music? Dean Hurley and David Lynch's heavenly score is really effective. I can't think of anything pretentious about the film.

Like "Eraserhead", "Lost Highway", "Mulholland Dr.", and "Inland Empire", I don't know if there's a purpose to "Lady Blue Shanghai", other than to advertise Dior. There's something about romance. It's linked to the handbag, but I can't go any further. Well, I don't need there to be a purpose to the films I watch, particularly art-house films. They mainly have to be entertaining in some way. If you can take some commercialism, "Lady Blue Shanghai" will hopefully be a beautiful 16-minute experience. I wonder if and when Lynch will make another feature film.

I got very excited when I saw the new credit to David Lynch's filmography, but after seeing this short film I think the truth has to be said: This is not a film, it's a 16 minute commercial for Christian Dior. I'm still not sure what the product is, maybe it's just the brand. So, when criticizing this title one must do it on 2 different levels: as a commercial and then as a short film.

As a commercial, this is pretty good. Everything is in place: the bag, the dress, the make up, and probably even the perfume, although this is one thing we cannot be certain of.

As a short film, this is pretty dull. It seems that David Lynch has completely run out of ideas, and he once again makes a film about "a woman in trouble". Lynch's films of this decade were all about women in trouble. Beginning with "Mulholland Drive" and ending with this piece. Unfortunately, the music and atmosphere cannot hide the fact that Lynch is out of inspiration. This little short film adds nothing to what we've already seen from the man. It doesn't really matter if you don't watch this. Watch "Inland Empire" instead.

I believe that Christian Dior just wanted to exploit poor Lynch's surreal approach to promote their products. I also believe that Lynch. lacking the opportunity to make another feature film, desperately needed the money. I can see no better reason for the making of this film.

And all this I say as a David Lynch fan who thinks Lynch is one of the greatest filmmakers alive today.