Lost Highway (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #1

It's taken me eight months, but I've finally reached the top film in my countdown of my 100 favourite films. It's only a surprise to my casual readers. My close friends already know "Lost Highway" is my favourite film, and I've even mentioned it once or twice in this blog.

"Dick Laurent is dead". That's him in the photo above, played by Robert Loggia. His death is announced at the start of the film, but we soon see that he's alive and well. He's a gangster in Los Angeles who's involved in the production of snuff movies. By all means, he's an evil man who deserves to die. He's living on borrowed time.

"In the East, the Far East, when a person is sentenced to death, they're sent to a place where they can't escape, never knowing when an executioner may step up behind them, and fire a bullet into the back of their head".

Dick Laurent's sentence has already been pronounced. His death is inevitable. He doesn't recognise his executioner, because he's hidden in the body of another man.

The identity and occupation of the mysterious Man In Black isn't completely clear, although I'm sure that he represents the Devil. He's described as an associate of Dick Laurent, but there's no hint of what he does for Dick. When Dick's throat is cut and he's struggling to keep the blood in, the Man In Black presents Dick with evidence of his past sins, the reason for his death sentence. Is he the judge, or merely a prison guard, standing at his side until the moment of execution comes?

Dick goes for a ride with the young car mechanic Pete Dayton. He thinks he has nothing to fear.

The jazz saxophonist Fred Madison is more capable of murder. This is one of the key events on which reviewers disagree. A videotape shows him cutting his wife to pieces. So he really did kill his wife, didn't he? I think not. When Fred sees the tape he's shocked and calls for his wife, thinking she's in the bedroom. He stubbornly declares his innocence to the police. Was her body ever found? The film doesn't make it clear whether a dismembered body was found in his bedroom. The only thing we know is that later in the film we see that she's still alive, in bed with Dick Laurent.

The video was made by the Man In Black, and it's obvious that he has supernatural abilities. He chose to frame Fred, to put him into a position to act as executioner. I know it's not fair, but when was the Devil ever fair?

At first Dick's girlfriend Alice Wakefield seems to be a victim, but as the film progresses we see that she's evil. She uses Pete to kill her enemies.

And then she walks away, leaving Pete lying in the dirt.

This sequence is beautifully filmed.

As I've written in my past reviews, there are different interpretations of this film. There are many differences in opinion on details, but there are two main theories: One theory is that the film shows a time loop. The other theory is that Fred Madison has a mental breakdown after murdering his wife and imagines a supernatural conspiracy while waiting to be executed. The second theory is so ridiculous that I'm surprised anybody believes it. It would mean that 90% of the film is either a dream sequence or imagined. If that were the case, it would be very poor screenwriting. The German edition of the "Lost Highway" DVD even prints this explanation on the back of the box. That's bad.

"Lost Highway" is a work of genius. I'm surprised that more people don't know it. It's a film that everyone should watch at least once; or better still, three times. After one viewing you won't understand it.

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