Lynch/Oz

        

Alexandre O Philippe's Lynch/Oz is the Swiss cinephile's documentary survey on the influence of the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz upon David Lynch. The film is separated into six chapters each featuring a noted critic or director (or both) discoursing on the topic at hand. Predictably, this delivers mixed results. I enjoyed the insights of Amy Nicholson and the team of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead the most, but mileage may vary. The sweep of the film is broad, not merely limited to the intersection of the two pure American products of the title. The always entertaining John Waters sheds more light upon the influence of ...Oz upon his films, especially Desperate Living, than he does vis a vis Lynch. Despite endless shots of curtains and red shoes, Philippe's keeps things moving along visually. Possibly because of COVID, there are no talking heads, just gorgeous reels from some truly deranged and bifurcated cinema.