Henry strives to live his life in concrete wasteland. But his wife prefers to stay with her sick mother and her morbidly smiling father and his child, not even sure it is a child of his child, causes him nightmares. David Lynch’s debut film questions every theory on what film can and should do. It is a touching plunge into a surrealist universe that inspires existential questions.
Cristal clear frames and darkened sounds create an atmosphere opposing the optimistic theme song: “In heaven, everything is fine. You got your good thing, and I’ve got mine.” Eraserhead displays the uncanny harmony of industrial and dystopic sounds fused with gloomy visuals.
Tobias Häberli
Translation: Lucia Arnold