In her latest “Film Through Time” column, Maggie McAteer SC ’30 takes on David Lynch and the mysteries of his movies. She argues that understanding the plot of Lynch’s films (which are notoriously confusing) is not their intended purpose. Instead, viewers should focus on the experience of watching the film.
Tag: Film
OPINION: A third place in plain sight: The movie theater
From blockbuster showings like “The Odyssey” to A24-produced creative documentaries such as “You Can See Everything,” 2026 has been a successful year for film in recent memory, bouncing back from COVID-19, which threatened to end the era of big-screen cinema. Calli Taffel PZ ’30 writes about Gen Z’s uniquely desperate search for third spaces, human connection and cinema’s renewed rise.
Poem of Ecstasy: Where does ‘The Turin Horse’ lead us?
Released in 2011 and directed by Hungarian director Béla Tarr, the film “The Turin Horse” follows six days in the life of an impoverished family in the Great Hungarian Plain.
Lost in Translation: Women & the language of liberation
In the wake of the presidential election, Claire Welch SC ’27 discusses the politics of language. Making references to the witches of 1970s Italy and a secret language in Hunan, Welch posits language as a tool towards liberation.
A Nightmare on 6th St: Coping with the election with ‘Saw’
Is living with the results of the 2024 election as painful as cutting off your own foot with a rusty saw in a grimy bathroom? No, and that’s a weird analogy? Horror columnist Niko Kay Smith SC ’25 doesn’t care, and explains why “Saw” (2004) provided the escapist self care he needed the weekend after election day.
A Nightmare on 6th St: How ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ uses your memories against you
When is a movie not just a movie? Horror columnist Niko Kay Smith dives deep into the trans phenomenon of Jane Schoenbrun’s recent coming-of-age horror film “I Saw The TV Glow” and the ways it demands participation from its audience.
Frame Rating: Why “True Stories” is the greatest western surrealist musical slice-of-life satire ever made
David Byrne’s “True Stories” is a lot of things: a musical, a satire, a disparate collection of loose scenes and strange characters. To film columnist Gerrit Punt PO ’24, it’s a shining reminder that exceptional stories can take exceptional forms.
The Library of Translations: From international stages to translated pages – book recommendations from around the world
Columnist Caroline Kelly PO ‘27 highlights these cinematic pieces with corresponding book recommendations to escape the post-movie blues.
Let’s Go Local: Cinema and connection: The Laemmle Theater
Planning a movie night or looking for something new to watch? Michelle Zhang PO ’27 highlights Claremont’s local Laemmle movie theater, its arthouse history, and the power of watching a movie on the big screen.
Frame Rating: A really, really half-hearted defense of David Lynch’s “Dune”
With the recent success of Denis Villenueve’s Dune 2 (2024), film columnist Gerrit Punt theorizes about David Lynch’s Dune adaptation (1984). He argues that Dune (1984) is a remnant of a forgotten 1980s science-fiction film genre, and that movie lovers should find what works instead of casting it aside.