Title DossierDocumentary

David Lynch: The Art Life

DocumentaryBiography

Artist and filmmaker David Lynch discusses his early life and the events that shaped his outlook on art and the creative process.

Year

2017

Duration

1h 28m

IMDb

7.2

Poster Feed

Cast

RB

Rick Barnes

Director

ON

Olivia Neergaard-Holm

Director

JN

Jon Nguyen

Director

Cast

RB

Rick Barnes

Director

ON

Olivia Neergaard-Holm

Director

JN

Jon Nguyen

Director

David Lynch

Self

LL

Lula Lynch

Self - David Lynch's daughter

EL

Edwina Lynch

Self - David Lynch's mother

DL

Donald Lynch

Self - David Lynch's father

Peggy Reavey

Self - David Lynch's first wife

Jack Fisk

Self

Bushnell Keeler

Self

IA

Isabel Andrés

Writer

Trailer

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Comments

10 Comments

David👑Jun 14, 2025

OMG! I fell asleep!!! Having David Lynch tell his own story in his soft MONOTONE voice makes a fascinating story, a yawner. NOT the stories themselves, but the way the tone in which they are told. I am a David Lynch film fan and his art, while fascinating, isn't my "taste". I appreciate the visuals along with his stories. He is a fan of home movies - which helped. And he is honest about his family. But this movie is by far mostly about his art and his life, not his films. That was a bit of a disappointment. 95% of this is about the first 22 years of his life. Not wasted time at all. But just not what I had hoped for.

Priya limbuJun 14, 2025

Much like a David Lynch film, the documentary on said subject "The Art Life", mixes surreal tales, uncomfortable silences, and gorgeous photography. Sure to befuddle many, this moody documentary concentrates on Lynch's visual art, barely touching on his filmmaking claim to fame. Revealed solely through his smoking words, "The Art Life" presents absorbing childhood recollections as Lynch creates his stark art pieces. It's beautifully shot, methodically paced, with a rather unsettling quality. There is no external opinion to be had, as the film exists entirely in Lynch's world. We see him making art, talking art, pondering art, and then making more art. He is obsessed, focused, but friendly and charming, whether in the midst of molding a creepy canvas, groping his shock of white hair, planning his next canvas move in a cloud of smoke, or interacting with his tiny daughter. The mystery of Hollywood's extreme outsider remains deliciously intact. Unforgettable.

Lerato MakepeMay 29, 2023

source: David Lynch: The Art Life

Luthando ShoshaNov 22, 2022

Some revealing insights into Lynch as an artist, his childhood and his films which open the lid on his creative process.

Fatima TourayNov 22, 2022

I watched the second movie of Lynch and then I watched Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway. I liked very much his other movies without Lost Highway. I used to think always he is a mysterious man but after watching this film I think he is very friendly. I liked his workshop. I think he had hard youth times but that is why he is a successful director and artist. I really liked Lynch's story. It's a very successful documentary. Be always yourself and don't give up your dreams.

Lesly Cyrus MinkueNov 22, 2022

David LYNCH: THE ART LIFE: INSPIRING I know David Lynch mainly from the Twin Peaks series I love. The fact that Lynch is not only a great film director but also an artist - and an inspiring one – comes as a pleasant surprise. ARTISTIC During the film Lynch is busy with extraordinary figures, shapes and materials. I did not understand what he was doing and at the same time it was very inspiring to watch. His artistic talent becomes clear from purely looking at him. I also saw many impressive paintings from him. CINEMORE The documentary about Lynch was shown during a monthly evening in Cinecenter, Amsterdam: Cinemore, an in-depth program for special films. Prior to the film a lecture was held, which was brought with humor. A nice introduction to this documentary. TWIN PEAKS One of the reasons I wanted to see David Lynch: The Art Life was to learn more about Twin Peaks and how he developed it. Unfortunately, this is not discussed in the film. Only a small part is about how he entered the film world. PERSONAL LIFE For the most part, and of course the name says it all, this documentary is about his artist's existence. In addition, his family ties and his personal life are discussed. Funnily enough, he himself is often the narrator of the story. That sometimes makes the film chaotic and difficult to follow. CONCLUSION The biggest conclusion I can draw after watching is that David Lynch is an intriguing man. David Lynch: The Art Life is an inspiring documentary, with the only two drawbacks that Twin Peaks gets no attention and that the voice-over by himself is not always the most informative choice. Nonetheless: recommended. www.ongevraagdfilmadvies.com

الفنان نور الزينNov 22, 2022

Lynch's films have been a great influence on me and I've always tried to enjoy them for what they are and not for what I'd like them to be, that is, considering, mostly, some technical "flaws" or maybe poor taste choices probably due to a low budget or just crazy stuff that seems meaningless at first. But I found such imperfection also beautiful and honest and completely essential to his work. Now, this documentary introduces us to Lynch's childhood, his passion for painting using different techniques and weird materials, and later how it transitioned into films. His childhood memories, which include names and addresses with precision, show us a rather happy world, not the disturbed or dark world one could probably imagine seeing his films, so I wondered where this darkness or inspiration came from and I thought this documentary would try to immerse into it, but it didn't. It's like a traditional objective biography, without covering any of his personal beliefs, inner conflicts, inspiration, motivations or obsessions. Nevertheless, it's a well constructed documentary, it covers his story clearly and shows many of his paintings which are very powerful.

Hadim ishaNov 22, 2022

Putting aside archival footage and his young daughter making cameos in parts of the film, David Lynch is the only person in the cast. His monologues do have an overarching story and chronology, but lots of it could come off stitched together. Not a bad thing, but The Art Life doesn't give you some deep understanding of his motivations behind every single one of his movies, rather why he does what he does. Beware: This is only logging his life from childhood to Eraserhead. Not his story of fame and success. Some found it too shallow, but in my opinion David has a lot of interesting stories to tell and he's a charismatic storyteller. It's almost a very organized podcast. Pretty decent all in all, if not some life-changing perspective on what we already figured about everyone's favorite Hollywood surrealist.

Jacky VikeNov 22, 2022

Having just delved into David Lynch's Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet I am intrigued by the man behind the brilliance. What we are left with in this film is a portrait, but left frustrating incomplete, without a mention of his later works beyond eraserhead. I felt disappointed at the end which is not what a documentary should be all about. However there are some great and inspiring moments, although you sometimes feel that the documentary would benefit from other people's perspectives upon Lynch's work, character and life.

user2447775288262Nov 22, 2022

I found this documentary when it was broadcast on television, I have always been fascinated with the filmmaker, and I assumed this was going to be a traditional insight into his life and career, I was only partly right. Basically, David Lynch, the film and television director, producer, and screenwriter, is best known for his surreal style and creative genius in his small and big screen projects. But he also a passion for art, from painting to sculpture, and this film examines his creativity. Lynch narrates his own story, talking about his early years, including hi childhood growing up in Montana, Washington State, before growing up and moving to Philadelphia to pursue a career as a painter. As he tells his story, we see him at work on many of his paintings, sculptures, and other creations at his home studio, and many of his past art pieces are shown on screen. It has archive footage of his childhood years, with his parents Edwina and Donald, his ex-wife Peggy, and during his present-day creativity, his daughter Lula is seen. Lynch tells about how he got attention from his peers as an impressive artist, and then he got into filmmaking and found another medium to express himself. He obviously talks about his experiences during the making of his debut film, the surreal fantasy horror Eraserhead. To be honest, I was expecting this film to be something like most films about filmmakers, people talking Lynch and his films and television work, and clips from his most celebrated and successful works: The Elephant Man, Dune, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, and Mullholland Drive. However, this was simply Lynch seen creating his many interesting and surreal art pieces, with him narrating his story. I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about art, but there was only so much of seeing it in the process of being made I could stand, at least the stories from Lynch were interesting, otherwise it was a slightly boring only just watchable documentary. Okay!