Firstly, I will tell you that most of the short films displayed in this collection are black and white, miserable and lack any kind of meaning whatsoever. Vague connections to some kind of distant plot are recognisable in the 34 minute The Grandmother, and the 26 minute The Cowboy And The Frenchman.
The Grandmother involves a poorly treated, hideously abused young child as he searches for love and comfort until eventually finding a bag of seeds. He plants one of these seeds, which subsequently form a grandmother, who is caring and kind towards the boy. But, soon after this, fate intervenes and the grandmother dies, leaving the boy to mourn sadly over her death. The fact that there is hardly any colour in this except dark, depressing visuals only further enhances the gloomy atmosphere.
The Cowboy And The Frenchmen, perhaps the most normal and welcoming of the films, involves three cowboys on a ranch who come across a Frenchman. The Frenchman is scared of an Indian who has been tracking him for quite a while, but they soon become friends as a car (yes, a car) pulls up alongside the ranch and some women step out. That was basically the furthest I could ascertain before loosing the storyline entirely.
This aside, you can’t argue that the films are influential, and completely original. The animations are clever and well done (but extremely weird).
Overall, Lynch’s collection is quirky, abnormal and sometimes shockingly grim. At times slightly amusing (The Cowboy and The Frenchman), and at other times shocking and disturbing (The Amputee), this is nonetheless strangely enjoyable in places. A rather hit and miss affair.
