Despite the avant-garde style was known for, he had a love for plenty more traditional movies. So much so that one particular mainstream Hollywood classic frequently made its way into his films. is cherished by generations, including the filmmaker/artist who created work that was not so mainstream. Lynch’s passing has left a hole in cinema and television, but his eccentric, nightmarish work lives on, as does his adoration for The Wizard of Oz. He referenced it repeatedly, not just in (1990) where wears ruby slippers and Laura Palmer shows up as Glinda the Good. The 2022 documentary, , follows a weirder Yellow Brick Road to explore how influential the 1939 fantasy musical was to Lynch.

Expect the unexpected when traveling somewhere over the rainbow into the cosmic horror of Twin Peaks and the most un-Lynchian film he made, (1999). Lynch/Oz may not have been made by the elusive creator, but it can be just as surprising. Six visual essays take viewers into , with clips shown to fit with the analysis and self-reflection given by various narrators for individual chapters.

Director talks about his love for ’s performance as the Wicked Witch, before talking about how he feels he and Lynch shared a fascination with exposing the darkness of a picturesque 1950s paradise. There is a fun fact that fans might love to learn, as Waters recalls seeing and becoming a vocal supporter of it, something that Lynch appreciated. Director’s chapter then pulls back the velvet curtain to see how a later film connects to The Wizard of Oz without the obvious imagery in Lynch's 1990 crime-romance, where Glinda the Good Witch and the ruby slippers make an appearance.

Sailor () and Lula (Dern) go on a road trip in Wild at Heart that is loaded with on-the-nose Oz references. is this film's Wicked Witch as a nefarious mother; Lula clicks her ruby slipper-like heels to transport herself away from the fresh trauma she experienced, but the peace never comes; and Twin Peaks alum, , floats down to help Sailor get a happy ending after he’s been beaten up. Karyn Kusama focuses on the less talked about connection between (2001) and The Wizard of Oz.

At a Q&A that Kusama attended, she remembered Lynch's response to a question from the audience, “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about The Wizard of Oz.” It made her look at Mulholland Drive differently. She believes his unsettling musical moments, like 's performance at Club Silencio, can be traced back to Lynch's fondness for lip-syncing over prerecorded tracks. Fully realized dream worlds tell you crucial information to understanding Dorothy and the inner turmoil of Diane (). “Sometimes we learn more about a character, not from their reality,” Kusama says, “but from their dreams.”

Not every chapter is like this analysis. Many times the narrators get personal, which could seem like it defeats the purpose of this documentary. The chapter by does this, as he brings up two dark moments in his life that occurred each time he rewatched Episode 8 of . Ascher’s name might alert viewers to the documentary he directed, , that obsesses over theories of possible hidden meanings in . The arguments become almost as labyrinthine as the Overlook’s hedge maze to find answers, but this isn’t what Lynch/Oz wants to do.

The doc was a labor of love for director , who made it during the pandemic. What he wanted audiences to take away was , but not concrete answers. “There’s nothing to solve about him or the creative process,” Philippe said in an interview, “It’s about opening new doors and windows by putting a new lens or filter on these extraordinary films and seeing them in a different light.” It’s what Lynch, himself, always preferred. When asked about the finale of The Return, Lynch remained happily tight-lipped, saying, “If there’s 100 people in the audience, you’re going to get 100 different interpretations, especially when things get abstract. It’s beautiful. Everybody’s a detective and whatever they come up with is valid in my mind.”

If he had it his way, the identity of Laura Palmer's killer would have gone unsolved before the network forced him to do the opposite. That’s why The Return is a satisfying hybrid of film and television, even with the unanswered questions, because it gave Lynch the creative freedom he craved. Lynch/Oz won’t be the place to find answers, and that’s why it's become a fitting tribute to David Lynch. It keeps the mystery alive like he would have wanted.

Lynch/Oz is streaming on Kanopy.

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