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Fear not, friends, for there are still a few directors left who realize that there’s more to the medium than putting a new spin on an old tale.

One such director is David Lynch, who (in-between selling organic coffee and preaching the joys of Transcendental meditation) has found the time to throw his hat back into the world of cinema.

After a near-five-year absence from theatres, Lynch is back with his most ambitious and surreal film to date. Following up 2001’s nightmarish Mulholland Drive is Inland Empire, a three hour tour-de-force which marks the director’s first foray into digital filmmaking.

Since its debut at the Cannes film festival last year, Empire has been touring the country and is currently showing at Minneapolis’ Oak Street theatre for a limited time.

The plot of the film revolves around Nikki Grace (Laura Dern), an established actress who has just received a rather coveted part in a cursed film. Soon after filming, Nikki has an affair with her co-star Devon Berk (Justin Theroux), and slowly starts confusing her world with that of her character, the adulteress Susan Blue.

Nikki’s grip on reality falters as she becomes trapped in a nightmarish dream house filled with Polish prostitutes. Coming to her senses, she finds herself working the streets of L.A. searching out a mysterious figure known as the Phantom who may hold the key to her previous breakdown.

Throw in some shadowy connections to mysterious carnies and a strange sitcom populated by giant talking rabbits (yeah, giant talking rabbits), and you’ve got quite an experience.

With shifting realities and numerous instances of time travel, Inland Empire is not your archetypal popcorn movie. Like many of Lynch’s earlier films, the plot is not laid out for the viewer, and is open for interpretation. Empire boasted no set script; in interviews, leading lady Laura Dern claims that she didn’t know the exact plot of the film until its premiere.

Through masterful editing, Lynch pulls together seemingly random scenes into a surrealistic nightmare; one which will surely delight fans of his previous works.

Considered by many to be one of the most visionary directors of the last century, David Lynch has terrified, confused, and delighted moviegoers since the debut of Eraserhead in 1977. His films depict the title characters confronting their own psychological problems through vivid dream sequences and strange hallucinations, as well as serving as a commentary on small town America and the movie industry itself.

I definitely recommend this film for fans of Lynch’s earlier work, as well as fans of other works of psychological horror. However, if this is to be your first exposure to Lynch, I would start somewhere else. If you do see Empire, remember to bring a friend or two. You’ll probably want to talk about this one for a while.