Dying on your way to the cigarette-machine      David Lynch, creator of strange movie-nightmares, talks about his fears and the experience of making  a 'sane' movie

FOCUS: Mr. Lynch, could you have made up "The Straight Story"?

Lynch: (Laughs) No way! Obviously life itself creates the most bizarre stories: A 73-year old man on a six-week-travel driving 350 miles on his lawnmower  crossing two states just to see his brother - that`s very far-fetched!

FOCUS: While the 'Lynch-touch' is still recognizable, the production is very low-profile.

Lynch: ... maybe that`s exactly the scary thing to it. No, seriously: I wanted to tell the story, that really happend quite the way like in the film, as straight as possible

FOCUS: Weren`t you afraid of irritating your fans?

Lynch: This  might sound arrogant, but when I make a movie, it`s the audience`s response I consider last. An artist working for the sake of commercial success is dubious to me. In a certain way, "The Straight Story" is my most extreme film to date.

FOCUS: It`s slightly reminiscent of "The Elephant Man"...

Lynch: ... I`m glad you agree with me there. On an emotional level it`s similiar to "The Elephant Man". You know, my movies are like mosaic-pieces hopefully adding up to a complete  structure in the end. But maybe I just took a deep healthy breath before returning to the dark and unhealthy things in life. (laughs). But don`t ask me what that might be. 

FOCUS: Your lost Kafka-project "The Metamorphosis" perhaps?

Lynch: That would be nice. This metamorphosis-story has been one of my favourite projects for a long time. But it somehow got out of my sight in the past years.

FOCUS: But that`s a very Lynchian story. This sad, absurd kind of humour ...

Lynch: Exactly right. Many people think of  Kafka as dark and cryptic - I certainly don`t. To me, Kafka is a brilliant comedian.

FOCUS: How come that a gentle person like you makes so eerie-beautiful movies?

Lynch: I`m afraid I can`t offer you a childhood trauma or horrible experience there. I`m into horror originating in the unknown, in seemingly innocent and safe fields.

FOCUS: Were there models for your trip into the unknown?

Lynch: No, I don`t care about models. I`m not a movie-buff at all. I`ve just recently begun to go to the movies more often. Of course I remember how much I was struck by movies by Fellini, Bergman and most of all Kubrick. But I`m not sure whether I am influenced by these master-directors. Francis Bacon the painter certainly has influenced me.

FOCUS: Could you imagine decorating your living room with a Bacon-painting?

Lynch: Absolutely. That should be  wonderful. I know this might sound confusing -  but I certainly would put a Bacon-painting in my living room.

FOCUS: Is there anything left that really scares you?

Lynch: The unkown. I dislike going to places, where there might be danger. It`s already the idea of doing so, which horrifies me. I can`t communicate the horror to anyone else then and feel completely isolated and scared to death.

FOCUS: Almost sounds like the central theme of your movies...

Lynch: Now you got me.

Focus: In case you`d have to chose between being insane and being paraplegic...

Lynch:  ... I believe this is getting an exciting interview (laughs). In this physcial hypothesis, I would chose the physical illness - in case I were able to continue working then.

FOCUS: So the mind is more important to you. Speaking of mind-expanding: Did you ever take drugs?

Lynch: No, not even at university in the sixties when everyone else around took LSD and other drugs.

FOCUS: What made you immune for drugs?

Lynch: Friends I almost lost to drugs, warned me to do so. There was something in the way they said it, that stopped me from taking LSD. But the temptation was always there.

FOCUS: You seems to be a rational mind ...

Lynch: A certain rational way to combine the realms of the in- and outside is certainly helpful to me.

FOCUS: And when combining contrasts: The green grass in the summer sun and a half-decayed ear in "Blue Velvet" ...

Lynch: ... you know, a cut off ear can be a hint towards a true abyss. Maybe  "Blue Velvet" was shocking in the mid-eighties, compared with the subjects of talk.shows nowadays, incest, child abuse, self-castrastion, all kinds of human obscenity, the movie appears quite innocent.

FOCUS: Do you think this kind of voyeurism is dangerous?

Lynch: Of course. It´s obvious that it`s dangerous to present sick minds as heroes and to use their atrocities for the dumbest form of entertainment possible. It`s not violence of movies but the contents of these kinds of entertainment that causes the trouble.

FOCUS: Why? Is it because these talk-show pseudo-reality lacks the artificial context?

Lynch: Yes and also because it makes the people ignorant. These obscenities appear more and more common.

FOCUS: Is there any place in the world where you feel safe?

Lynch: That`s hard to tell. Unfortunately, you don`t have to get into dangerous places to die. You can be shot to death on your way to buy cigarettes.

FOCUS: Something completely different: why is your shirt always buttoned-up?

Lynch: That`s a means of protection.  I feel the need to cover my collar-bone. If the shirt is buttoned up, I feel insecure somehow. I even like it when the collar is very tight to the neck.

FOCUS: Are you a happy person?

Lynch: Oh yes, a very happy person (laughs). Is that a surprise for you?

FOCUS: You once said you like to day-dream. Is that your way to escape reality?

Lynch: No,  escaping reality is not the point. It`s rather that everone has some subconsciuos thoughts all the time. One idea leads to another - like in  a chain-reaction. Suddenly, you reach a state which you`d never reach if you had controlled your thoughts. I love to live in a world of ideas.

FOCUS: So that`s escapism in the end..

Lynch: No. It´s rather staying in a "stream of conciousness". For example when painting I try to keep the distance to the painting as long as possible.

FOCUS: Which seems impossible with movies...

Lynch: Unfortunately, yes. Maybe I should have become a chemist instead. You mix two different elements and wait what`s happening. If there`s a reaction, you can repeat the experiment in a different way and observe what`s happening this time. The same goes for working creatively: experimenting until you get an idea that`s so powerful that is might be the basis of an entire movie.

FOCUS: So making movies is not a means of self-therapy for you?

Lynch: No. And exorcism neither (laughs). A psychologist would say that you do certain things because you`ve got a special relationship towards it. That´s certainly true, but I have to create something new all the time to be satisfied. You know, I`m a curious person.

FOCUS: Did you destroy your matchbox-cars as a kid to see what`s it´s like on the inside?

Lynch: No. I can`t remember that. I was fascinated by digging a hole into the soil. I looked at the trees. The grass.

FOCUS: And found an ear...?

Lynch: (laughs) No, honestly.

FOCUS: Your former companion, Isabella Rossellini, mentions in her book [Some of Me], that you used to store dead mice and half-rotten animal corpses in the fridge beside the butter and cabbage.

Lynch: That is true. I love collecting organical structures, to use them in my paintings later on. And there`s no better place for this than the fridge.

FOCUS: Now you`re getting scary...

Lynch: The decay of organic material is most fascinating. It`s amazing how many stages a juice apple goes through to become a rotten nothing. I prefer the microcosm to the macrocosm.

FOCUS: Is it true that you once shaved a living mouse?

Lynch: Yes.

FOCUS: Why?

Lynch: I wanted to know what it looks like without fur. And I can assure you that it looks beautiful. 

Interview: Ulrich Lössl